THE  LIBRARY  OF  THE 
UNIVERSITY  OF 
NORTH  CAROLINA 
AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


ENDOWED  BY  THE 
DIALECTIC  AND  PHILANTHROPIC 
SOCIETIES 


PT2389 

.UU  I 

B8 

1695 


This  book  is  due  at  the  LOUIS  R.  WILSON  LIBRARY  on  the 
last  date  stamped  under  "Date  Due."  If  not  on  hold  it  may  be 
renewed  by  bringing  it  to  the  library. 


DATE  Qi^T^ 
DUE 

DATE 
DUE 

NOV  0  ^ 

3 

[)eE1"  1981 

— rttin^ — ..  - 

mi  T  •  MdV^ 

1 

— ^  

?  

Form  No.  51 3 

Digitized 

by  the  Internet  Archive 

n  2013 

http://archive.org/details/undineOOIanno_0 


UNDINE 


BY 

DE  LA  MOTTE  FOUQUfe 

TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  GERMAN 

By  F.  E.  BUNNETT 


PHILADELPHIA 
HENRY  ALTEMUS 
1395. 


L 


HENRY  ALTEMUS,  MANUFACTURER, 
PHILADELPHIA. 


L^biary.  Univ.  ol 
North  CaTolin^ 


CONTENTS. 


PAGB 

Dedication  7 

CHAPTER 

I.  How  THE  Knight  came  to  the 

Fisherman   9 

II.  In  what  Way  Undine  had  come  to 

THE  Fisherman  21 

III.  How  They  found  Undine  AGAIN    .  31 

IV.  Of  that  which  the  Knight  en- 

countered IN  THE  Wood  ...  38 

V.  How  THE  Knight  lived  on  the 

Little  Promontory     ....  49 

VI.  Of  a  Nuptial  Ceremony    ...  57 
rO          VII.    What  further  happened  on  the 

Evening  of  the  Wedding    .    .  68 
VIII.    The  Day  after  the  Wedding    .  74. 
^  IX.    How  THE  Knight  took  His  Young 

^  Wife  with  Him  84 

5 


CONTENTS, 


CHAPTER  PAGB 

X.  How  They  lived  in  the  City     .  92 

XI.  The  Anniversary  of  Bertalda's 

Name-Day  99 

XII.  How  they  departed  from  the 

Imperial  City  109 

XIII.     How  THEY  LIVED  AT  CaSTLE  RiNG- 

STETTEN  116 

,  XIV.    How  Bertalda  returned  Home 

WITH  the  Knight  .  .  .  .  .  129 
XV.  The  Journey  to  Vienna  ...  141 
XVI.    How  It  fared  further  with  Huld- 

BRAND  151 

XVII.  The  Knight's  Dream  ....  158 
XVIII.    How  THE  Knight  Huldbrand  is 

MARRIED  163 

XIX.    How  THE  Knight  Huldbrand  was 

BURIED  171 


DEDICATION. 


Undine,  thou  image  fair  and  blest, 

Since  first  thy  strange  mysterious  glance 
Shone  on  me  from  some  old  romance, 

How  hast  thou  sung  my  heart  to  rest ! 

How  hast  thou  clung  to  me  and  smiled, 
And  wouldest,  whispering  in  my  ear. 
Give  vent  to  all  thy  miseries  drear, 

A  little  half-spoiled  timorous  child  ! 

Yet  hath  my  zither  caught  the  sound, 
And  breathed  from  out  its  gates  of  gold. 
Each  gentle  word  thy  lips  have  told. 

Until  their  fame  is  spread  around. 

7 


8 


DEDICATION. 


And  many  a  heart  has  loved  thee  well, 
In  spite  of  every  wayward  deed, 
And  many  a  one  will  gladly  read, 

The  pages  which  thy  history  tell. 

I  catch  the  whispered  hope  expressed, 
That  thou  should'st  once  again  appear 
So  cast  aside  each  doubt  and  fear, 

And  come,  Undine  !  thou  spirit  blest ! 

Greet  every  noble  in  the  hall, 

And  greet  'fore  all,  with  trusting  air, 
The  beauteous  women  gathered  there ; 

I  know  that  thou  art  loved  by  all. 

And  if  one  ask  thee  after  me. 

Say :  he's  a  true  and  noble  knight, 
Fair  woman's  slave  in  song  anc?-  €ghl 

And  in  all  deeds  of  chivalry. 


UNDINE. 


CHAPTER  I. 

HOW  THE  KNIGHT  CAME  TO  THE  FISHERMAN. 

There  was  once,  it  may  be  now  many  hun- 
dred years  ago,  a  good  old  fisherman,  who  was 
sitting  one  fine  evening  before  his  door,  mend- 
ing his  nets.  The  part  of  the  country  in  which 
he  lived  was  extremely  pretty.  The  greensward, 
on  which  his  cottage  stood,  ran  far  into  the  lake, 
and  it  seemed  as  if  it  was  from  love  for  the  blue 
clear  waters  that  the  tongue  of  land  had  stretched 
itself  out  into  them,  while  with  an  equally  fond 
embrace  the  lake  had  encircled  the  green  pas- 
ture rich  with  waving  grass  and  flowers,  and  the 
refreshing  shade  of  trees.  The  one  welcomed 
the  other,  and  it  was  just  this  that  made  each 
9 


lO 


UNDINE, 


so  beautiful.  There  were  indeed  few  human 
beings,  or  rather  none  at  all,  to  be  met  with  on 
this  pleasant  spot,  except  the  fisherman  and  his 
family.  For  at  the  back  of  this  little  promontory 
there  lay  a  very  wild  forest,  which,  both  from  its 
gloom  and  pathless  solitude  as  well  as  from  the 
wonderful  creatures  and  illusions  with  which  it 
was  said  to  abound,  was  avoided  by  most  people 
except  in  cases  of  necessity. 

The  pious  old  fisherman,  however,  passed 
through  it  many  a  time  undisturbed,  when  he 
was  taking  the  choice  fish,  which  he  had  caught 
at  his  beautiful  home,  to  a  large  town  situated 
not  far  from  the  confines  of  the  forest.  The 
principal  reason  why  it  was  so  easy  for  him  to 
pass  through  this  forest  was  because  the  tone  of 
his  thoughts  was  almost  entirely  of  a  religious 
character,  and  besides  this,  whenever  he  set 
foot  upon  the  evil  reputed  shades,  he  was  wont 
to  sing  some  holy  song,  with  a  clear  voice  and 
a  sincere  heart. 

While  sitting  over  his  nets  this  evening,  un- 
suspicious of  any  evil,  a  sudden  fear  came  upon 
him,  at  the  sound  of  a  rustling  in  the  gloom  of 


KNIGHT  AND  FISHERMAN         1 1 


the  forest,  as  of  a  horse  and  rider,  the  noise 
approaching  nearer  and  nearer  to  the  Uttle  prom- 
ontory. All  that  he  had  dreamed,  in  many  a 
stormy  night,  of  the  mysteries  of  the  forest,  now 
flashed  at  once  through  his  mind ;  foremost  of 
all,  the  image  of  a  gigantic  snow-white  man, 
who  kept  unceasingly  nodding  his  head  in  a  por- 
tentous manner.  Indeed,  when  he  raised  his 
eyes  toward  the  wood  it  seemed  to  him  as  if 
he  actually  saw  the  nodding  man  approaching 
through  the  dense  foliage.  He  soon,  however, 
reassured  himself,  reflecting  that  nothing  serious 
had  ever  befallen  him  even  in  the  forest  itself, 
and  that  upon  this  open  tongue  of  land  the  evil 
spirit  would  be  still  less  daring  in  the  exercise 
of  his  power.  At  the  same  time  he  repeated 
aloud  a  text  from  the  Bible  with  all  his  heart, 
and  this  so  inspired  him  with  courage  that  he 
almost  smiled  at  the  illusion  he  had  allowed  to 
possess  him.  The  white  nodding  man  was  sud- 
denly transformed  into  a  brook  long  familiar  to 
him,  which  ran  foaming  from  the  forest  and  disr 
charged  itself  into  the  lake.  The  noise,  how- 
ever, which  he  had  heard,  was  caused  by  a 


12 


UNDINE. 


knight  beautifully  apparelled,  who,  emerging 
from  the  deep  shadows  of  the  wood,  came  rid- 
ing toward  the  cottage.  A  scarlet  mantle  was 
thrown  over  his  purple  gold-embroidered  doub- 
let ;  a  red  and  violet  plume  waved  from  his 
golden-colored  head-gear ;  and  a  beautifully  and 
richly  ornamented  sword  flashed  from  his  shoul- 
der-belt. The  white  steed  that  bore  the  knight 
was  more  slenderly  formed  than  war-horses  gen- 
erally are,  and  he  stepped  so  lightly  over  the 
turf  that  this  green  and  flowery  carpet  seemed 
scarcely  to  receive  the  slightest  injury  from  his 
tread. 

The  old  fisherman  did  not,  however,  feel  per- 
fectly secure  in  his  mind,  although  he  tried  to 
convince  himself  that  no  evil  was  to  be  feared 
from  so  graceful  an  apparition  ;  and  therefore  he 
politely  took  off  his  hat  as  the  knight  approached, 
and  remained  quietly  with  his  nets. 

Presently  the  stranger  drew  up,  and  inquired 
whether  he  and  his  horse  could  have  shelter  and 
care  for  the  night.  **As  regards  your  horse, 
good  sir,"  replied  the  fisherman,  **  I  can  assign 
him  no  better  stable  than  this  shady  pasture, 


KNIGHT  AND  FISHERMAN         1 3 


and  no  better  provender  than  the  grass  growing 
on  it.  Yourself,  however,  I  will  gladly  welcome 
to  my  small  cottage,  and  give  you  supper  and 
lodging  as  good  as  we  have."  The  knight  was 
well  satisfied  with  this;  he  alighted  from  his 
horse,  and,  with  the  assistance  of  the  fisherman, 
he  relieved  it  from  saddle  and  bridle,  and  turned 
it  loose  upon  the  flowery  green.  Then  address- 
ing his  host,  he  said:  **  Even  had  I  found  you 
less  hospitable  and  kindly  disposed,  my  worthy 
old  fisherman,  you  would  nevertheless  scarcely 
have  got  rid  of  me  to-day,  for,  as  I  see,  a  broad 
lake  lies  before  us,  and  to  ride  back  into  that 
mysterious  wood,  with  the  shades  of  evening 
coming  on,  heaven  keep  me  from  it ! " 

**  We  will  not  talk  too  much  of  that,"  said  the 
fisherman,  and  he  led  his  guest  into  the  cottage. 

There,  beside  the  hearth,  from  which  a  scanty 
fire  shed  a  dim  light  through  the  cleanly-kept 
room,  sat  the  fisherman's  aged  wife  in  a  capa- 
cious chair.  At  the  entrance  of  the  noble  guest 
she  rose  to  give  him  a  kindly  welcome,  but 
resumed  her  seat  of  honor  without  offering  it  to 
the  stranger.    Upon  this  the  fisherman  said 


UNDINE. 


with  a  smile:  You  must  not  take  it  amiss  of 
her,  young  sir,  that  she  has  not  given  up  to  you 
the  most  comfortable  seat  in  the  house ;  it  is  a 
custom  among  poor  people,  that  it  should  belong 
exclusively  to  the  aged."" 

**  Why,  husband,''  said  the  wife,  with  a  quiet 
smile,  **what  can  you  be  thinking  of?  Our 
guest  belongs  no  doubt  to  Christian  men,  and 
how  could  it  come  into  the  head  of  the  good 
young  blood  to  drive  old  people  from  their 
chairs?  Take  a  seat,  my  young  master,"  she 
continued,  turning  toward  the  knight;  over 
there,  there  is  a  right  pretty  little  chair,  only 
you  must  not  move  about  on  it  too  roughly,  for 
one  of  its  legs  is  no  longer  of  the  firmest."  The 
knight  fetched  the  chair  carefully,  sat  down  upon 
it  good-humoredly,  and  it  seemed  to  him  as  if 
he  were  related  to  this  little  household,  and  had 
just  returned  from  abroad. 

The  three  worthy  people  now  began  to  talk 
together  in  the  most  friendly  and  familiar  man- 
ner. With  regard  to  the  forest,  about  which 
the  knight  made  some  inquiries,  the  old  man 
was  not  inclined  to  be  communicative ;  he  felt 


KNIGHT  AND  FISHERMAN         I  5 


it  was  not  a  subject  suited  to  approaching  night, 
but  the  aged  couple  spoke  freely  of  their  home 
and  former  life,  and  listened  also  gladly  when 
the  knight  recounted  to  them  his  travels,  and 
told  them  that  he  had  a  castle  near  the  source 
of  the  Danube,  and  that  his  name  was  Sir  Huld- 
brand  of  Ringstetten.  During  the  conversation, 
the  stranger  had  already  occasionally  heard  a 
splash  against  the  little  low  window,  as  if  some 
one  were  sprinkling  water  against  it.  Every 
time  the  noise  occurred,  the  old  man  knit  his 
brow  with  displeasure  ;  but  when  at  last  a  whole 
shower  was  dashed  against  the  panes,  and  bub- 
bled into  the  room  through  the  decayed  case- 
ment, he  rose  angrily,  and  called  threateningly 
from  the  window :  *'  Undine  !  will  you  for  once 
leave  off  these  childish  tricks  ?  and  to-day,  be- 
sides, there  is  a  stranger  knight  with  us  in  the 
cottage."  All  was  silent  without,  only  a  sup- 
pressed laugh  was  audible,  and  the  fisherman 
said  as  he  returned:  You  must  pardon  it  in 
her,  my  honored  guest,  and  perhaps  many  a 
naughty  trick  besides ;  but  she  means  no  harm 
by  it.    It  is  our  foster-child,  Undine,  and  she 


i6 


UNDINE. 


will  not  wean  herself  from  this  childishness,  al- 
though she  has  already  entered  her  eighteenth 
year.  But,  as  I  said,  at  heart  she  is  thoroughly 
good." 

You  may  well  talk,"  replied  the  old  woman, 
shaking  her  head ;  **  when  you  come  home  from 
fishing  or  from  a  journey,  her  frolics  may  then 
be  very  delightful,  but  to  have  her  about  one  the 
whole  day  long,  and  never  to  hear  a  sensible 
word,  and  instead  of  finding  her  a  help  in  the 
housekeeping  as  she  grows  older,  always  to  be 
obliged  to  be  taking  care  that  her  follies  do  not 
completely  ruin  us,  that  is  quite  another  thing, 
and  the  patience  of  a  saint  would  be  worn  out  at 
last." 

Well,  well,"  said  her  husband  with  a  smile, 
**  you  have  your  troubles  with  Undine,  and  I 
have  mine  with  the  lake.  It  often  breaks  away 
my  dams,  and  tears  my  nets  to  pieces,  but  for 
all  that,  I  have  an  a-ffection  for  it,  and  so  have 
you  for  the  pretty  child,  in  spite  of  all  your 
crosses  and  vexations.    Isn't  it  so?" 

"  One  can't  be  very  angry  with  her,  certainly," 
said  the  old  woman,  and  she  smiled  approvingly. 


KNIGHT  AND  FISHERMAN.  1/ 


Just  then  the  door  flew  open,  and  a  beautiful, 
fair  girl  glided  laughing  into  the  room,  and  said  : 
**  You  have  only  been  jesting,  father,  for  where 
is  your  guest  ?  " 

At  the  same  moment,  however,  she  perceived 
the  knight,  and  stood  fixed  with  astonishment 
before  the  handsome  youth.  Huldbrand  was 
struck  with  her  charming  appearance,  and  dwelt 
the  more  earnestly  on  her  lovely  features,  as  he 
imagined  it  was  only  her  surprise  that  gave  him 
this  brief  enjoyment,  and  that  she  would  pres- 
ently turn  from  his  gaze  with  increased  bashful- 
ness.  It  was,  however,  quite  otherwise ;  for 
after  having  looked  at  him  for  some  time,  she 
drew  near  him  confidingly,  knelt  down  before 
him,  and  said,  as  she  played  with  a  gold  medal 
which  he  wore  on  his  breast,  suspended  from  a 
rich  chain:  Why,  you  handsome,  kind  guest, 
how  have  you  come  to  our  poor  cottage  at  last  ? 
Have  you  been  obliged  then  to  wander  through 
the  world  for  years,  before  you  could  find  your 
way  to  us  ?  Do  you  come  out  of  that  wild  for- 
est, my  beautiful  knight?"  The  old  woman's 
reproof  allowed  him  no  time  for  reply.  She 


i8 


UNDINE. 


admonished  the  girl  to  stand  up  and  behave  her- 
self and  to  go  to  her  work.  Undine,  however, 
without  making  any  answer  drew  a  little  foot- 
stool close  to  Huldbrand's  chair,  sat  down  upon  it 
with  her  spinning,  and  said  pleasantly:  I  will 
work  here."  The  old  man  did  as  parents  are 
wont  to  do  with  spoiled  children.  He  affected 
to  observe  nothing  of  Undine^s  naughti- 
ness and  was  beginning  to  talk  of  something 
else.  But  this  the  girl  would  not  let  him  do ; 
she  said :  I  have  asked  our  charming  guest 
whence  he  comes,  and  he  has  not  yet  answered 
me.'" 

I  come  from  the  forest,  you  beautiful  little 
vision,"  returned  Huldbrand ;  and  she  went  on 
to  say :  — 

Then  you  must  tell  me  how  you  came 
there,  for  it  is  usually  so  feared,  and  what  mar- 
vellous adventures  you  met  with  in  it,  for  it  is 
impossible  to  escape  without  something  of  the 
sort." 

Huldbrand  felt  a  slight  shudder  at  this  re- 
membrance, and  looked  involuntarily  toward 
the  Vv^indow,  for  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  one  of 


KNIGHT  AND  FISHERMAN  I9 


the  strange- figures  he  had  encountered  in  the 
forest  were  grinning  in  there  ;  but  he  saw  noth- 
ing but  the  deep  dark  night,  which  had  now 
shrouded  everything  without.  Upon  this  he 
composed  himself  and  was  on  the  point  of  be- 
ginning his  little  history,  when  the  old  man 
interrupted  him  by  saying :  Not  so,  sir  knight ! 
this  is  no  fit  hour  for  such  things."  Undine, 
however,  sprang  angrily  from  her  little  stool, 
and  standing  straight  before  the  fisherman  with 
her  fair  arms  fixed  in  her  sides,  she  exclaimed  : 

He  shall  not  tell  his  story,  father?  He  shall 
not?  but  it  is  my  will.  He  shall !  He  shall  in 
spite  of  you  !  "  and  thus  saying  she  stamped 
her  pretty  little  foot  vehemently  on  the  floor, 
but  she  did  it  all  with  such  a  comically  graceful 
air  that  Huldbrand  now  felt  his  gaze  almost 
more  riveted  upon  her  in  her  anger  than  before 
in  her  gentleness. 

The  restrained  wrath  of  the  old  man,  on  the 
contrary,  burst  forth  violently.  He  severely  re- 
proved Undine^s  disobedience  and  unbecoming 
behavior  to  the  stranger,  and  his  good  old  wife 
joined   with   him   heartily.     Undine  quickly 


20 


UNDINE, 


retorted:   *^If  you  want  to    chide  me,  and 
wonH  do  what  I  wish,  then  sleep  alone  in  your 
old  smoky  hut ! "  and  swift  as   an  arrow  she  -K 
flew  from  the  room,  and  fled  into  the  dark 
night. 


UNDINE  AND  THE  FISHERMAN  21 


CHAPTER  II. 

IN  WHAT  WAY  UNDINE  HAD  COME  TO  THE 
FISHERMAN. 

HuLDBRAND  and  the  fisherman  sprang  from 
their  seats  and  were  on  the  point  of  following 
the  angry  girl.  Before  they  reached  the  cottage 
door,  however,  Undine  had  long  vanished  in  the 
shadowy  darkness  without,  and  not  even  the 
sound  of  her  light  footstep  betrayed  the  direc- 
tion of  her  flight.  Huldbrand  looked  inquir- 
ingly at  his  host ;  it  almost  seemed  to  him  as  if 
the  whole  sweet  apparition,  which  had  suddenly 
merged  again  into  the  night,  were  nothing  else 
than  one  of  that  band  of  the  wonderful  forms 
which  had,  but  a  short  time  since,  carried  on 
their  pranks  with  him  in  the  forest.  But  the 
old  man  murmured  between  his  teeth :  **  This 
is  not  the  first  time  that  she  has  treated  us  in 
this  way.    Now  we  have  aching  hearts  and 


22 


UNDINE, 


sleepless  eyes  the  whole  night  through  ;  for  who 
knows,  that  she  may  not  some  day  come  to 
harm,  if  she  is  thus  out  alone  in  the  dark  until 
daylight." 

Then  let  us  for  God's  sake  follow  her,"  cried 
Huldbrand,  anxiously. 

What  would  be  the  good  of  it? "  replied  the 
old  man.  It  would  be  a  sin  were  I  to  allow 
you,  all  alone,  to  follow  the  foolish  girl  in  the 
solitary  night,  and  my  old  limbs  would  not  over- 
take the  wild  runaway,  even  if  we  knew  in  what 
direction  she  had  gone." 

**  We  had  better  at  any  rate  call  after  her,  and 
beg  her  to  come  back,"  said  Huldbrand ;  and 
he  began  to  call  in  the  most  earnest  manner: 
**  Undine!  Undine!  Pray  come  back!"  The 
old  man  shook  his  head,  saying,  that  all  that 
shouting  would  help  but  little,  for  the  knight 
had  no  idea  how  self-willed  the  little  truant  was. 
But  still  he  could  not  forbear  often  calling  out 
with  him  in  the  dark  night:  *' Undine!  Ah! 
dear  Undine,  I  beg  you  to  come  back  —  only 
this  once !  " 

It  turned  out,  however,  as  the  fisherman  had 


UNDINE  AND  THE  FISHERMAN  2$ 


said.  No  Undine  was  to  be  heard  or  seen,  and 
as  the  old  man  would  on  no  account  consent 
that  Huldbrand  should  go  in  search  of  the  fugi- 
tive, they  were  at  last  both  obliged  to  return  to 
the  cottage.  Here  they  found  the  fire  on  the 
hearth  almost  gone  out,  and  the  old  wife,  who 
took  Undine's  flight  and  danger  far  less  to  heart 
than  her  husband,  had  already  retired  to  rest. 
The  old  man  blew  up  the  fire,  laid  some  dry 
wood  on  it,  and  by  the  light  of  the  flame  sought 
out  a  tankard  of  wine,  which  he  placed  between 
himself  and  his  guest.  You,  sir  knight,"  said 
he,  are  also  anxious  about  that  silly  girl,  and 
we  would  both  rather  chatter  and  drink  away  a 
part  of  the  night  than  keep  turning  round  on 
our  rush  mats  trying  in  vain  to  sleep.  Is  it  not 
so?"  Huldbrand  was  well  satisfied  with  the 
plan ;  the  fisherman  obliged  him  to  take  the 
seat  of  honor  vacated  by  the  good  old  house- 
wife, and  both  drank  and  talked  together  in  a 
manner  becoming  two  honest  and  trusting  men. 
It  is  true,  as  often  as  the  slightest  thing  moved 
before  the  windows,  or  even  at  times  when  noth- 
ing was  moving,  one  of  the  two  would  look  up 


24 


UNDINE, 


and  say  :  **  She  is  coming !  "  Then  they  would 
be  silent  for  a  moment  or  two,  and  as  nothing 
appeared,  they  would  shake  their  heads  and  sigh 
and  go  on  with  their  talk. 

As,  however,  neither  could  think  of  anything 
but  of  Undine,  they  knew  of  nothing  better  to 
do  than  that  the  old  fisherman  should  tell  the 
story,  and  the  knight  should  hear,  in  what  man- 
ner Undine  had  first  come  to  the  cottage.  He 
therefore  began  as  follows  :  — 

It  is  now  about  fifteen  years  ago  that  I  was 
one  day  crossing  the  wild  forest  with  my  goods, 
on  my  way  to  the  city.  My  wife  had  stayed  at 
home,  as  her  wont  is,  and  at  this  particular  time 
for  a  very  good  reason,  for  God  had  given  us, 
in  our  tolerably  advanced  age,  a  wonderfully 
beautiful  child.  It  was  a  little  girl|.  and  a  ques- 
tion already  arose  between  us,  whether  for  the 
sake  of  the  new-comer,  we  would  not  leave  our 
lovely  home  that  we  might  better  bring  up  this 
dear  gift  of  heaven  in  some  more  habitable 
place.  Poor  people  indeed  cannot  do  in  such 
cases  as  you  may  think  they  ought,  sir  knight, 
but,  with  God's  blessing,  every  one  must  do 


UNDINE  AND  THE  FISHERMAN  2$ 


what  he  can.  Well,  the  matter  was  tolerably  in 
my  head  as  I  went  along.  This  slip  of  land 
was  so  dear  to  me,  and  I  shuddered  when,  amid 
the  noise  and  brawls  of  the  city,  I  thought  to 
myself,  *  In  such  scenes  as  these,  or  in  one  not 
much  more  quiet,  thou  wilt  also  soon  make  thy 
abode  ! '  But  at  the  same  time  I  did  not  mur- 
mur against  the  good  God ;  on  the  contrary,  I 
thanked  him  in  secret  for  the  new-born  babe ; 
I  should  be  telling  a  lie,  too,  were  I  to  say,  that 
on  my  journey  through  the  wood,  going  or  re- 
turning, anything  befell  me  out  of  the  common 
way,  and  at  that  time  I  had  never  seen  any  of 
its  fearful  wonders.  The  Lord -was  ever  with 
me  in  those  mysterious  shades." 

As  he  spoke  he  took  his  little  cap  from  his 
bald  head,  and  remained  for  a  time  occupied 
with  prayerful  thoughts ;  he  then  covered  him- 
self again,  and  continued  :  — 

*'0n  this  side  the  forest,  alas!  a  sorrow 
awaited  me.  My  wife  came  to  meet  me  with 
tearful  eyes  and  clad  in  mourning.  *  Oh  !  Good 
God!'  I  groaned,  *  where  is  our  dear  child? 
speak  ! '  —  *  With  him  on  whom  you  have  called, 


26 


UNDINE. 


dear  husband,'  she  replied ;  and  we  now  entered 
the  cottage  together  weeping  silently.  I  looked 
around  for  the  little  corpse,  and  it  was  then  only 
that  I  learned  how  it  had  all  happened. 

*'  My  wife  had  been  sitting  with  the  child  on 
the  edge  of  the  lake,  and  as  she  was  playing 
with  it,  free  of  all  fear  and  full  of  happiness,  the 
iittle  one  suddenly  bent  forward,  as  if  attracted 
by  something  very  beautiful  in  the  water.  My 
wife  saw  her  laugh,  the  dear  angel,  and  stretch 
out  her  little  hands ;  but  in  a  moment  she  had 
sprung  out  of  her  mother^s  arms,  and  had  sunk 
beneath  the  watery  mirror.  I  sought  long  for 
our  little  lost  one ;  but  it  was  all  in  vain ;  there 
was  no  trace  of  her  to  be  found. 

"  The  same  evening  we,  childless  parents, 
were  sitting  silently  together  in  the  cottage ; 
neither  of  us  had  any  desire  to  talk,  even  had 
our  tears  allowed  us.  We  sat  gazing  into  the 
fire  on  the  hearth.  Presently,  we  heard  some- 
thing rustling  outside  the  door;  it  flew  open, 
and  a  beautiful  little  girl  three  or  four  years  old, 
richly  dressed,  stood  on  the  threshold  smiling 
at  us.    We  were  quite  dumb  with  astonishment, 


UNDINE  AND  THE  FISHERMAN  2/ 


and  I  knew  not  at  first  whether  it  were  a  vision 
or  a  reality.  But  I  saw  the  water  dripping  from 
her  golden  hair  and  rich  garments,  and  1  per- 
ceived that  the  pretty  child  had  been  lying  in 
the  water,  and  needed  help.  '  Wife,'  said  I, 
*  no  one  has  been  able  to  save  our  dear  child ; 
yet  let  us  at  any  rate  do  for  otiiers  what  would 
have  made  us  so  blessed.'  We  undressed  the 
little  one,  put  her  to  bed,  and  gave  her  some- 
thing warm ;  at  all  this  she  spoke  not  a  word, 
and  only  fixed  her  eyes,  that  reflected  the  blue 
of  the  lake  and  of  the  sky,  smilingly  upon  us. 
Next  morning  we  quickly  perceived  that  she 
had  taken  no  harm  from  her  wetting,  and  I 
now  inquired  about  her  parents,  and  how  she 
had  come  here.  But  she  gave  a  confused  and 
strange  account.  She  must  have  been  born  far 
from  here,  not  only  because  for  these  fifteen 
years  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  out  anything 
of  her  parentage,  but  because  she  then  spoke, 
and  at  times  still  speaks,  of  such  singular  things 
that  such  as  we  are  cannot  tell  but  that  she  may 
have  dropped  upon  us  from  the  moon.  She 
talks  of  golden  castles,  of  crystal  domes,  and 


28 


UNDINE, 


heaven  knows  what  besides.  The  story  that 
she  told  with  most  distinctness  was,  that  she 
was  out  in  a  boat  with  her  mother  on  the  great 
lake,  and  fell  into  the  water,  and  that  she  only 
recovered  her  senses  here  under  the  trees  where 
she  felt  Herself  quite  happy  on  the  merry  shore. 
We  had  still  a  great  misgiving  and  perplexity 
weighing  on  our  heart.  We  had,  indeed,  soon 
decided  to  keep  the  child  we  had  found  and  to 
bring  her  up  in  the  place  of  our  lost  darling ; 
but  who  could  tell  us  whether  she  had  been 
baptized  or  not?  She  herself  could  give  us  no 
information  on  the  matter.  She  generally  an- 
swered our  questions  by  saying  that  she  well 
knew  she  was  created  for  God's  praise  and  glory, 
and  that  she  was  ready  to  let  us  do  with  her 
whatever  would  tend  to  His  honor  and  glory. 

*'My  wife  and  I  thought  that  if  she  were  not 
baptized,  there  was  no  time  for  delay,  and  that 
if  she  were,  a  good  thing  could  not  be  repeated 
too  often.  And  in  pursuance  of  this  idea,  we 
reflected  upon  a  good  name  for  the  child,  for  we 
now  were  often  at  a  loss  to  know  what  to  call 
her.    We  agreed  at  last  that  Dorothea  would  be 


UNDINE  AND  THE  FISHERMAN  29 


the  most  suitable  for  her,  for  I  once  heard  that 
It  meant  a  gift  of  God,  and  she  had  surely  been 
5ent  to  us  by  God  as  a  gift  and  comfort  in  our 
misery.  She,  on  the  other  hand,  would  not 
hear  of  this,  and  told  us  that  she  thought  she 
had  been  called  Undine  by  her  parents,  and 
that  Undine  she  wished  still  to  be  called.  Now 
this  appeared  to  me  a  heathenish  name,  not 
to  be  found  in  any  calendar,  and  I  took  counsel 
therefore  of  a  priest  in  the  city.  He  also  would 
not  hear  of  the  name  of  Undine,  but  at  my 
earnest  request  he  came  with  me  through  the 
mysterious  forest  in  order  to  perform  the  rite  of 
baptism  here  in  my  cottage.  The  little  one 
stood  before  us  so  prettily  arrayed  and  looked 
so  charming  that  the  priest's  heart  was  at  once 
moved  within  him,  and  she  flattered  him  so 
prettily,  and  braved  him  so  merrily,  that  at  last 
he  could  no  longer  remember  the  objections  he 
had  had  ready  against  the  name  of  Undine.  She 
was  therefore  baptized  *  Undine,'  and  during 
the  sacred  ceremony  she  behaved  with  great 
propriety  and  sweetness,  wild  and  restless  as 
she  invariably  was  at  other  times.    For  my  wife 


30 


UNDINE, 


was  quite  right  when  she  said  that  it  has  been 
hard  to  put  up  with  her.  If  I  were  to  tell 
you  "  — 

The  knight  interrup^ted  the  fisherman  to  draw 
his  attention  to  a  noise,  as  of  a  rushing  flood 
of  waters,  which  had  caught  his  ear  during  the 
old  man's  talk,  and  which  now  burst  against 
the  cottage-window  with  redoubled  fury.  Both 
sprang  to  the  door.  There  they  saw,  by  the 
light  of  the  now  risen  moon,  the  brook  which 
issued  from  the  wood,  widely  overflowing  its 
banks,  and  whirling  away  stones  and  branches 
of  trees  in  its  sweeping  course.  The  storm,  as 
if  awakened  by  the  tumult,  burst  forth  from  the 
mighty  clouds  which  passed  rapidly  across  the 
moon  :  the  lake  roared  under  the  furious  lashing 
of  the  wind ;  the  trees  of  the  little  peninsula 
groaned  from  root  to  topmost  bough,  and  bent,  as 
if  reeling,  over  the  surging  waters.  Undine  ! 
for  Heaven's  sake.  Undine  !  "  cried  the  two  men 
in  alarm.  No  answer  was  returned,  and  regard' 
less  of  every  other  consideration,  they  ran  out 
of  the  cottage,  one  in  this  di-recbion,  and  the 
other  in  that,  searching  and  calling. 


UNDINE  FOUND  AGAIN  3 1 


CHAPTER  III. 

HOW  THEY  FOUND  UNDINE  AGAIN. 

The  longer  Huldbrand  sought  Undine  be- 
neath the  shades  of  night,  and  failed  to  find  her, 
the  more  anxious  and  confused  did  he  become. 
The  idea  that  Undine  had  been  only  a  mere 
apparition  of  the  forest,  again  gained  ascendancy 
over  him ;  indeed,  amid  the  howling  of  the 
waves  and  the  tempest,  the  cracking  of  the  trees, 
and  the  complete  transformation  of  a  scene 
lately  so  calmly  beautiful,  he  could  almost  have 
considered  the  whole  peninsula  with  its  cottage 
and  its  inhabitants  as  a  mocking  illusive  vision ; 
but  from  afar  he  still  ever  heard  through  the 
tumult  the  fisherman's  anxious  call  for  Undine, 
and  the  loud  praying  and  singing  of  his  aged 
wife.  At  length  he  came  close  to  the  brink  of 
the  swollen  stream,  and  saw  in  the  moonlight 


32 


UNDINE. 


how  it  had  taken  its  wild  course  directly  in  front 
of  the  haunted  forest,  so  as  to  change  the  penin- 
sula into  an  island.  "Oh  God!"  he  thought 
to  himself,  '*  if  Undine  has  ventured  a  step  into 
that  fearful  forest,  perhaps  in  her  charming  wil- 
fulness, just  because  I  was  not  allowed  to  tell 
her  about  it ;  and  now  the  stream  may  be  roll- 
ing between  us,  and  she  may  be  weeping  on  the 
other  side  alone,  among  phantoms  and  spec- 
tres !  "  A  cry  of  horror  escaped  him,  and  he 
clambered  down  some  rocks  and  overthrown 
pine-stems,  in  order  to  reach  the  rushing  stream 
and  by  wading  or  swimming  to  seek  the  fugi- 
tive on  the  other  side.  He  remembered  all  the 
awful  and  wonderful  things  which  he  had  en- 
countered, even  by  day,  under  the  now  rustling 
and  roaring  branches  of  the  forest.  Above  all 
it  seemed  to  him  as  if  a  tall  man  in  white,  whom 
he  knew  but  too  well,  was  grinning  and  nodding 
on  the  opposite  shore ;  but  it  was  just  these 
monstrous  forms  which  forcibly  impelled  him 
to  cross  the  flood,  as  the  thought  seized  him 
that  Undine  might  be  among  them  in  the 
agonies  of  death  and  alone. 


/ 


UNDINE  FOUND  AGAIN  33 


He  had  already  grasped  the  strong  branch  of 
a  pine,  and  was  standing  supported  by  it,  in  the 
whirling  current,  against  which  he  could  with 
difficulty  maintain  himself ;  though  with  a  cour- 
ageous spirit  he  advanced  deeper  into  it.  Just 
then  a  gentle  voice  exclaimed  near  him  :  Ven- 
ture not,  venture  not,  the  old  man,  the  stream, 
is  full  of  tricks  !  "  He  knew  the  sweet  tones ; 
he  stood  as  if  entranced  beneath  the  shadows 
that  duskily  shrouded  the  moon,  and  his  head 
swam  with  the  swelling  of  the  waves,  which  he 
now  saw  rapidly  rising  to  his  waist.  Still  he 
would  not  desist. 

**  If  thou  art  not  really  there,  if  thou  art  only 
floating  about  me  like  a  mist,  then  may  I  too 
cease  to  live  and  become  a  shadow  like  thee, 
dear,  dear  Undine  ! Thus  exclaiming  aloud,  he 
again  stepped  deeper  into  the  stream.  Look 
round  thee,  oh  !  look  round  thee,  beautiful  but 
infatuated  youth ! "  cried  a  voice  again  close 
beside  him,  and  looking  aside,  he  saw  by  the 
momentarily  unveiled  moon,  a  little  island  formed 
by  the  flood,  on  which  he  perceived  under  the 
interweaved  branches  of  the  overhanging  trees. 


34 


UNDINE. 


Undine  smiling  and  happy,  nestling  in  the  flow- 
ery grass. 

Oh !  how  much  more  gladly  than  before  did 
the  young  man  now  use  the  aid  of  his  pine- 
branch  ! 

With  a  few  steps  he  had  crossed  the  flood 
which  was  rushing  between  him  and  the  maiden, 
and  he  was  standing  beside  her  on  a  little  spot 
of  turf,  safely  guarded  and  screened  by  the  good 
old  trees.  Undine  had  half-raised  herself,  and 
now  under  the  green  leafy  tent  she  threw  her 
arms  round  his  neck,  and  drew  him  down  beside 
her  on  her  soft  seat. 

**  You  shall  tell  me  your  story  here,  beautiful 
friend,"  said  she,  in  a  low  whisper;  **the  cross 
old  people  cannot  hear  us  here  ;  and  our  roof  of 
leaves  is  just  as  good  a  shelter  as  their  poor 
cottage." 

It  is  heaven  itself!"  said  Huldbrand,  em- 
bracing the  beautiful  girl  and  kissing  her  fer- 
vently. 

The  old  fisherman  meanwhile  had  come  to  the 
edge  of  the  stream,  and  shouted  across  to  the 
two  young  people:     Why,  sir  knight,  I  have 


UNDINE  FOUND  AGAIN  35 


received  you  as  one  honest-hearted  man  is  wont 
to  receive  another,  and  now  here  you  are  caress- 
ing  my  foster-child  in  secret,  and  letting  me  run 
hithjr  and  thither  through  the  night  in  anxious 
search  of  her." 

"  I  have  only  just  found  her  myself,  old 
father,"  returned  the  knight. 

*' So  much  the  better,"  said  the  fisherman; 

but  now  bring  her  across  to  me  without  delay 
upon  firm  ground." 

Undine,  however,  would  not  hear  of  this  ;  she 
declared  she  would  rather  go  with  the  beautiful 
stranger,  into  the  wild  forest  itself,  than  return 
to  the  cottage,  where  no  one  did  as  she  wished, 
and  from  which  the  beautiful  knight  would  him- 
self depart  sooner  or  later.  Then,  throwing 
her  arms  round  Huldbrand,  she  sang  with  inde- 
scribable grace  :  — 

"  A  stream  ran  out  of  the  misty  vale 
Its  fortunes  to  obtain, 
the  ocean's  depths  it  found  a  home 
And  ne'er  returned  again." 


The  old  fisherman  wept  bitterly  at  her  song, 


36 


UNDINE. 


but  this  did  not  seem  to  aflfect  her  particularly. 
She  kissed  and  caressed  her  new  friend,  who  at 
last  said  to  her:  Undine,  if  the  old  man's 
distress  does  not  touch  your  heart,  it  touches 
mine  — let  us  go  back  to  him.*" 

She  opened  her  large  blue  eyes  in  amazement 
at  him,  and  spoke  at  last,  slowly  and  hesitat- 
ingly:  "If  you  think  so  —  well,  whatever  you 
think  is  right  to  me.  But  the  old  man  yonder 
must  first  promise  me  that  he  will  let  you,  with- 
out objection,  relate  to  me  what  you  saw  in 
the  wood,  and  —  well,  other  things  will  settle 
themselves." 

**  Come,  only  come,"  cried  the  fisherman  to 
her,  unable  to  utter  another  word ;  and  at  the 
same  time  he  stretched  out  his  arms  far  over  the 
rushing  stream  toward  her,  and  nodded  his  head 
as  if  to  promise  the  fulfilment  of  her  request, 
and  as  he  did  this,  his  white  hair  fell  strangely 
over  his  face,  and  reminded  Huldbrand  of  the 
nodding  white  man  in  the  forest.  Without  al- 
lowing himself,  however,  to  grow  confused  by 
such  an  idea  the  young  knight  took  the  beauti- 
ful girl  in  his  arms,  and  bore  her  over  the 


UNDINE  FOUND  AGAIN  37 


narrow  passage  which  the  stream  had  forced 
between  her  little  island  and  the  shore. 

The  old  man  fell  upon  Undine^s  neck  and 
could  not  satisfy  the  exuberance  of  his  joy ;  his 
good  wife  also  came  up  and  caressed  the  newly- 
found  in  the  heartiest  manner.  Not  a  word  of 
reproach  passed  their  lips ;  nor  was  it  thought 
of,  for  Undine,  forgetting  all  her  waywardness, 
almost  overwhelmed  her  foster-parents  with 
affection  and  fond  expressions. 

When  at  last  they  had  recovered  from  the 
excess  of  their  joy,  day  had  already  dawned, 
and  had  shed  its  purple  hue  over  the  lake ;  still- 
ness had  followed  the  storm,  and  the  little  birds 
were  singing  merrily  on  the  wet  branches.  As 
Undine  now  insisted  upon  hearing  the  knight's 
promised  story,  the  aged  couple  smilingly  and 
readily  acceded  to  her  desire.  Breakfast  was 
brought  out  under  the  trees  which  screened  the 
cottage  from  the  lake,  and  they  sat  down  to  it 
with  contented  hearts  —  Undine  on  the  grass  at 
the  knight's  feet,  the  place  chosen  by  herself. 

Huldbrand  then  proceeded  with  his  story. 


38 


UNDINE, 


CHAPTER  IV. 

OF  THAT  WHICH  THE  KNIGHT  ENCOUNTERED  IN 
THE  WOOD. 

**It  is  now  about  eight  days  ago  since  I  rode 
into  the  free  imperial  city,  which  lies  on  the  other 
side  of  the  forest.  Soon  after  my  arrival,  there 
was  a  splendid  tournament  and  running  at  the 
ring,  and  I  spared  neither  my  horse  nor  my  lance. 
Once  when  I  was  pausing  at  the  lists,  to  rest  after 
my  merry  toil,  and  was  handing  back  my  helmet 
to  one  of  my  squires,  my  attention  was  attracted 
by  a  female  figure  of  great  beauty,  who  was 
standing  richly  attired  on  one  of  the  galleries 
allotted  to  spectators. 

I  asked  my  neighbor,  and  learned  from  him, 
that  the  name  of  the  fair  lady  was  Bertalda,  and 
that  she  was  the  foster-daughter  of  one  of  the 
powerful  dukes  living  in  the  country.  I  remarked 
that  she  also  was  looking  at  me,  and,  as  it  is  wont 


THE  KNIGHT  IN  THE  WOOD.  39 


to  be  with  us  young  knights,  I  had  already  ridden 
bravely,  and  now  pursued  my  course  with  reno- 
vated confidence  and  courage.  In  the  dance 
that  evening  I  was  Bertalda's  partner,  and  I 
remained  so  throughout  the  festival." 

A  sharp  pain  in  his  left  hand,  which  hung 
down  by  his  side,  here  interrupted  Huldbrand's 
narrative,  and  drew  his  attention  to  the  aching 
part.  Undine  had  fastened  her  pearly  teeth 
upon  one  of  his  fingers,  appearing  at  tlie  same 
time  very  gloomy  and  angry.  Suddenly,  how- 
ever, she  looked  up  in  his  eyes  with  an  expres- 
sion of  tender  melancholy,  and  whispered  in  a 
soft  voice  :  "  It  is  your  own  fault."  Then  she  hid 
her  face,  and  the  knight,  strangely  confused  and 
thoughtful,  continued  his  narrative. 

This  Bertalda  was  a  haughty,  wayward  girl. 
Even  on  the  second  day  she  pleased  me  no  longer 
as  she  had  done  on  the  first,  and  on  the  third  day 
still  less.  Still  I  continued  about  her,  because 
she  was  more  pleasant  to  me  than  to  any  other 
knight,  and  thus  it  was  that  I  begged  her  in  jest 
to  give  me  one  of  her  gloves.  *  I  will  give  it 
you  when  you  have  quite  alone  explored  the  ill- 


40 


UNDINE, 


famed  forest,'  said  she,  *  and  can  bring  me  tid- 
ings of  its  wonders.'  It  was  not  that  her  glove 
was  of  such  importance  to  me,  but  the  word  had 
been  said,  and  an  honorable  knight  would  not 
allow  himself  to  be  urged  a  second  time  to  such 
a  proof  of  valor." 

I  think  she  loved  you,''  said  Undine,  inter- 
rupting him. 

It  seemed  so,"  replied  Huldbrand. 
'*Well,''  exclaimed  the  girl,  laughing,  *' she 
must  be  stupid  indeed.  To  drive  away  any  one 
dear  to  her.  And  moreover,  into  an  ill-omened 
wood.  The  forest  and  its  mysteries  might  have 
waited  long  enough  for  me  ! " 

**  Yesterday  morning,"  continued  the  knight, 
smiling  kindly  at  Undine,  **  I  set  out  on  my  enter- 
prise. The  stems  of  the  trees  caught  the  red 
tints  of  the  morning  light  which  lay  brightly  on 
the  green  turf,  the  leaves  seemed  whispering 
merrily  with  each  other,  and  in  my  heart  I  could 
have  laughed  at  the  people  who  could  have  ex- 
pected anything  to  terrify  them  in  this  pleasant 
spot.  *  I  shall  soon  have  trotted  through  the 
forest  there  and  back  again,'  I  said  to  myself, 


THE  KNIGHT  IN  THE   WOOD,      4 1 


with  a  feeling  of  easy  gayety,  and  before  I  had 
even  thought  of  it  I  was  deep  within  the  green 
shades,  and  could  no  longer  perceive  the  plain 
which  lay  behind  me.  Then  for  the  first  time  it 
struck  me  that  I  might  easily  lose  my  way  in  the 
mighty  forest,  and  that  this  perhaps  was  the 
only  danger  which  the  wanderer  had  to  fear.  I 
therefore  paused  and  looked  round  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  sun,  which  in  the  mean  while  had 
risen  somewhat  higher  above  the  horizon. 
While  I  was  thus  looking  up  I  saw  something 
black  in  the  branches  of  a  lofty  oak.  I  thought 
it  was  a  bear  and  I  grasped  my  sword  ;  but  with 
a  human  voice,  that  sounded  harsh  and  ugly,  it 
called  to  me  from  above :  *  If  I  do  not  nibble 
away  the  branches  up  here.  Sir  Malapert,  what 
shall  we  have  to  roast  you  with  at  midnight  ? ' 
And  so  saying  it  grinned  and  made  the  branches 
rustle,  so  that  my  horse  grew  furious  and  rushed 
forward  with  me  before  I  had  time  to  see  what 
sort  of  a  devil  it  really  was." 

You  must  not  call  it  so,"  said  the  old  fisher- 
man as  he  crossed  himself ;  his  wife  did  the  same 
silently.    Undine  looked  at  the  knight  with 


42  UNDINE. 

sparkling  eyes  and  said :  The  best  of  the 
story  is  that  they  certainly  have  not  roasted  him 
yet ;  go  on  now,  you  beautiful  youth !  " 

The  knight  continued  his  narration:  "My 
horse  was  so  wild  that  he  almost  rushed  with 
me  against  the  stems  and  branches  of  trees  ;  he 
was  dripping  with  sweat,  and  yet  would  not  suf- 
fer himself  to  be  held  in.  At  last  he  went 
straight  in  the  direction  of  a  rocky  precipice ; 
then  it  suddenly  seemed  to  me  as  if  a  tall  white 
man  threw  himself  across  the  path  of  my  wild 
steed  ;  the  horse  trembled  with  fear  and  stopped  : 
I  recovered  my  hold  of  him,  and  for  the  first  time 
perceived  that  my  deliverer  was  no  white  man, 
but  a  brook  of  silvery  brightness,  rushing  down 
from  a  hill  by  my  side  and  crossing  and  imped- 
ing my  horse's  course." 

Thanks,  dear  Brook,"  exclaimed  Undine, 
clapping  her  little  hands.  The  old  man,  how- 
ever, shook  his  head  and  looked  down  in  deep 
thought. 

"I  had  scarcely  settled  myself  in  the  saddle," 
continued  Huldbrand,  and  seized  the  reins 
.firmly,  when  a  wonderful  little  man  stood  at  my 


THE  KNirUT  IN  THE  WOOD.  43 


side,  diminutive,  and  ugly  beyond  conception. 
His  complexion  was  of  a  yellowish  brown,  and 
his  nose  not  much  smaller  than  the  rest  of  his 
entire  person.  At  the  same  time  he  kept  grin- 
ning with  stupid  courtesy,  exhibiting  his  huge 
mouth,  and  making  a  thousand  scrapes  and  bows 
to  me.  As  this  farce  was  now  becoming  incon- 
venient to  me,  I  thanked  him  briefly  and  turned 
about  my  still  trembling  steed,  thinking  either  to 
seek  another  adventure,  or  in  case  I  met*  with 
none,  to  find  my  way  back,  for  during  my  wild 
chase  the  sun  had  already  passed  the  meridian ; 
but  the  little  fellow  sprang  round  with  the  speed 
of  lightning  and  stood  again  before  my  horse. 

*  Room  ! '  I  cried,  angrily  ;  *  the  animal  is  wild 
and  may  easily  run  over  you.' —  '  Ay,  ay ! '  snarled 
the  imp,  with  a  grin  still  more  horribly  stupid. 

*  Give  me  first  some  drink-money,  for  I  have 
stopped  your  horse ;  without  me  you  and  your 
horse  would  be  now  both  lying  in  the  stony 
ravine;  ugh!' — *  Don't  make  anymore  faces,' 
said  I,  'and  take  your  money,  even  if  you  are 
tellmg  lies ;  for  see,  it  was  the  good  brook  there 
that  saved  me,  and  not   you,  you  miserable 


44 


UNDINE. 


wight ! '  And  at  the  same  time  I  dropped  a 
piece  of  gold  into  his  grotesque  cap,  which  he 
had  taken  off  in  his  begging.  I  then  trotted  on  ; 
but  he  screamed  after  me,  and  suddenly  with  in- 
conceivable quickness  was  at  my  side.  I  urged 
my  horse  into  a  gallop  ;  the  imp  ran  too,  making 
at  the  same  time  strange  contortions  with  his 
body,  half-ridiculous,  half-horrible,  and  holding 
up  the  gold-piece,  he  cried,  at  every  leap, '  False 
money !  false  coin  !  false  coin !  false  money ! ' 
—  and  this  he  uttered  with  such  a  hollow  sound 
that  one  would  have  supposed  that  after  every 
scream  he  would  have  fallen  dead  to  the 
ground. 

*'  His  horrid  red  tongue  moreover  hung  far  out 
of  his  mouth.  I  stopped,  perplexed,  and  asked  : 
*  What  do  you  mean  by  this  screaming?  take 
another  piece  of  gold,  take  two,  but  leave  me.' 
He  then  began  again  his  hideous  burlesque  of 
pohteness,  and  snarled  out :  *  Not  gold,  not  gold, 
my  young  gentleman.  I  have  too  much  of  that 
trash  myself,  as  I  will  show  you  at  once ! ' 

Suddenly  it  seemed  to  me  as  if  I  could  see 
through  the  solid  soil  as  though  it  were  green 


THE  KNIGHT  IN  THE  WOOD.  45 


glass  and  the  smooth  earth  were  as  round  as  a 
ball ;  and  within,  a  multitude  of  goblins  were 
making  sport  with  silver  and  gold ;  head  over 
heels  they  were  rolling  about,  pelting  each  other 
in  jest  with  the  precious  metals,  and  provokingly 
blowing  the  gold-dust  in  each  other's  eyes.  My 
hideous  companion  stood  partly  within  and  partly 
without ;  he  ordered  the  others  to  reach  him  up 
heaps  of  gold,  and  showing  it  to  me  with  a  laugh, 
he  then  flung  it  back  agam  with  a  ringing  noise 
into  the  nnmeasurable  abyss. 

He  then  showed  the  piece  of  gold  I  had  given 
him  to  the  goblins  below,  and  they  laughed  them- 
selves half-dead  over  it  and  hissed  at  me.  At 
last  they  all  pointed  at  me  with  their  metal- 
stained  fingers,  and  more  and  more  wildly,  and 
more  and  more  densely,  and  more  and  more 
madly,  the  swarm  of  spirits  came  clambering  up 
to  me.  I  was  seized  with  terror  as  my  horse  had 
been  before  ;  I  put  spurs  to  him,  and  I  know  not 
how  far  I  galloped  for  the  second  time  wildly  into 
the  forest. 

**At  length,  when  I  again  halted,  the  cool- 
ness of  evening  was  around  me.    Through  the 


46 


UNDINE. 


branches-  of  the  trees  I  saw  a  white  foot-path 
gleaming,  which  I  fancied  must  lead  from  the 
forest  toward  the  city.  I  was  anxious  to  work 
my  way  in  that  direction  ;  but  a  face  perfectly 
white  and  indistinct,  with  features  ever  chan- 
ging, kept  peering  at  me  between  the  leaves ;  I 
tried  to  avoid  it,  but  wherever  I  went  it  appeared 
also.  Enraged  at  this,  I  determined  at  last  to 
ride  at  it,  when  it  gushed  forth  volumes  of  foam 
upon  me  and  my  horse,  obliging  us  half-blinded 
to  make  a  rapid  retreat.  Thus  it  drove  us  step 
by  step  ever  away  from  the  foot-path,  leaving  the 
way  open  to  us  only  in  one  direction.  When  we 
advanced  in  this  direction,  it  kept  indeed  close 
behmd  us,  but  did  not  do  us  the  slightest  harm. 

Looking  around  at  it  occasionally,  I  per- 
ceived that  the  white  face  that  had  besprinkled 
us  with  foam  belonged  to  a  form  equally  white 
and  of  gigantic  stature.  Many  a  time  I  thought 
that  it  was  a  moving  stream,  but  I  could  never 
convince  myself  on  the  subject.  Wearied  out, 
the  horse  and  his  rider  yielded  to  the  impeUing 
power  of  the  white  man,  who  kept  nodding  his 
head,  as  if  he  would  say,  *  Quite  right,  quite 


THE  KNIGHT  IN  THE   WOOD,  4/ 


right ! '  And  thus  at  last  we  came  out  here  to 
the  end  of  the  forest,  where  I  saw  the  turf,  and 
the  lake,  and  your  little  cottage,  and  where  the 
tall  white  man  disappeared/' 

"  It's  well  that  he's  gone,''  said  the  old  fisher- 
man ;  and  now  he  began  to  talk  of  the  best  way 
by  which  his  guest  could  return  to  his  friends  in 
the  c^'ty.  Upon  this  Undine  began  to  laugh 
slyly  to  herself ;  Huldbrand  observed  it,  and 
said:  *' I  thought  you  were  glad  to  see  me 
here ;  why  then  do  you  now  rejoice  when  my 
departure  is  talked  of  ? '' 

Because  you  cannot  go  away,"  replied  Un- 
dine. Just  try  it  once,  to  cross  that  over- 
flowed forest  stream  with  a  boat,  with  your 
horse,  or  alone,  as  you  may  fancy.  Or  rather 
don't  try  it,  for  you  would  be  dashed  to  pieces 
by  the  stones  and  trunks  of  trees  which  are  car- 
ried down  by  it  with  the  speed  of  lightning. 
And  as  to  the  lake,  I  know  it  well ;  father  dare 
not  venture  out  far  enough  with  his  boat." 

Huldbrand  rose,  smiling,  in  order  to  see 
whether  things  were  as  Undine  had  said ;  the 
old  man  accompanied  him,  and  the  girl  danced 


48 


UNDINE, 


merrily  along  by  their  side.  They  found  every- 
thing, indeed,  as  Undine  had  described,  and  the 
knight  was  obliged  to  submit  to  remain  on  the 
little  tongue  of  land,  that  had  become  an  island, 
till  the  flood  should  subside.  As  the  three  were 
returning  to  the  cottage  after  their  ramble,  the 
knight  whispered  in  the  ear  of  the  little  maiden : 
Well,  how  is  it,  my  pretty  Undine  —  are  you 
angry  at  my  remaining?" 

Ah  !"  she  replied,  peevishly,  let  me  alone. 
If  I  had  not  bitten  you,  who  knows  how  much 
of  Bertalda  would  have  appeared  in  your  story?" 


ON  THE  PROMONTORY,  49 


CHAPTER  V. 

HOW  THE  KNIGHT  LIVED  ON  THE  LITTLE 

PROMONTORY, 

After  having  been  much  driven  to  and  fro 
in  the  world,  you  have  perhaps,  my  dear  reader, 
reached  at  length  some  spot  where  all  was  well 
with  thee  ;  where  the  love  for  home  and  its  calm 
peace,  innate  to  all,  has  again  sprung  up  within 
thee ;  where  thou  hast  thought  that  this  home 
was  rich  with  all  the  flowers  of  childhood  and 
of  the  purest,  deepest  love  that  rests  upon  the 
graves  of  those  that  are  gone,  and  thou  hast  felt 
it  must  be  good  to  dwell  here  and  to  build  habita- 
tions. Even  if  thou  hast  erred  in  this,  and  hast 
had  afterward  bitterly  to  atone  for  the  error,  that 
is  nothing  to  the  purpose  now,  and  thou  wouldst 
not,  indeed,  voluntarily  sadden  thyself  with  the 
unpleasant  recollection.  But  recall  that  inex- 
pressibly sweet  foreboding,  that  angelic  sense 


50 


UNDINE, 


of  peace,  and  thou  wilt  know  somewhat  of  the 
knight  Huldbrand's  feelings  during  his  abode  on 
the  little  promontory. 

He  often  perceived  with  hearty  satisfaction 
that  the  forest  stream  rolled  along  every  day 
more  wildly,  making  its  bed  ever  broader  and 
broader,  and  prolonging  his  sojourn  on  the 
island  to  an  indefinite  period.  Part  of  the  day 
he  rambled  about  with  an  old  cross-bow,  which 
he  had  found  in  a  corner  of  the  cottage  and  had 
repaired ;  and,  watching  for  the  water-fowl,  he 
killed  all  that  he  could  for  the  cottage  kitchen. 
When  he  brought  his  booty  home.  Undine  rarely 
neglected  to  upbraid  him  with  having  so  cruelly 
deprived  the  happy  birds  of  life ;  indeed  she 
often  wept  bitterly  at  the  sight  he  placed  before 
her.  But  if  he  came  home  another  time  without 
having  shot  anything  she  scolded  him  no  less 
seriously,  since  now,  from  his  carelessness  and 
want  of  skill,  they  had  to  be  satisfied  with  living 
on  fish.  He  always  delighted  heartily  in  her 
graceful  little  scoldings,  all  the  more  as  she 
generally  strove  to  compensate  for  her  ill-humor 
by  the  sweetest  caresses. 


ON  THE  PROMONTORY. 


51 


The  old  people  took  pleasure  in  the  intimacy 
of  the  young  pair ;  they  regarded  them  as  be- 
trothed, or  even  as  already  united  in  marriage, 
and  living  on  this  isolated  spot,  as  a  succor  and 
support  to  them  in  their  old  age.  It  v^as  this 
same  sense  of  seclusion  that  suggested  the  idea 
also  to  Huldbrand's  mind  that  he  was  already 
Undine's  accepted  one.  He  felt  as  if  there  were 
no  world  beyond  these  surrounding  waters,  or 
as  if  he  could  never  recross  them  to  mingle  with 
other  men;  and  when  at  times  his  grazing  horse 
would  neigh  as  if  inquiringly  to  remind  him  of 
knightly  deeds,  or  when  the  coat  of  arms  on  his 
embroidered  saddle  and  horse-gear  shone  sternly 
upon  him,  or  when  his  beautiful  sword  would 
suddenly  fall  from  the  nail  on  which  it  was 
hanging  in  the  cottage,  gliding  from  the  scab- 
bard as  it  fell,  he  would  quiet  the  doubts  of 
his  mind  by  saying:  *'  Undine  is  no  fisherman's 
daughter  ;  she  belongs  in  all  probability  to  some 
illustrious  family  abroad.*'  There  was  only  one 
thing  to  which  he  had  a  strong  aversion,  and 
this  was,  when  the  old  dame  reproved  Undine 
in  his  'presence.    The  wayward  girl,  it  is  true, 


52 


UNDINE, 


laughed  at  it  for  the  most  part,  without  attempti 
ing  to  conceal  her  mirth  ;  but  it  seemed  to  him 
as  if  his  honor  were  concerned,  and  yet  he  could 
not  blame  the  old  fisherman^s  wife,  for  Undine 
always  deserved  at  least  ten  times  as  many  re^ 
proofs  as  she  received ;  so,  in  his  heart  he  felt 
the  balance  in  favor  of  the  old  woman,  and  his 
whole  life  flowed  onward  in  calm  enjoyment. 

There  came,  however,  an  interruption  at  last. 
The  fisherman  and  the  knight  had  been  accuse 
tomed  at  their  mid-day  meal,  and  also  in  the 
evening  when  the  wind  roared  without,  as  it  was 
always  wont  to  do  toward  night,  to  enjoy  to- 
gether a  flask  of  wine.  But  now  the  store  which 
the  fisherman  had  from  time  to  time  brought 
with  him  from  the  town,  was  exhausted,  and 
the  two  men  were  quite  out  of  humor  in  conse- 
quence. 

Undine  laughed  at  them  excessively  all  day, 
but  they  were  neither  of  them  merry  enough  to 
join  in  her  jests  as  usual.  Toward  evening  she 
went  out  of  the  cottage  to  avoid,  as  she  said, 
two  such  long  and  tiresome  faces.  As  twilight 
advanced,  there  were  again  tokens  of  a  storm, 


ON  THE  rROMONTOKY. 


S3 


and  the  water  rushed  and  roared.  Full  of  alarm, 
the  knight  and  the  fisherman  sprang  to  the  door, 
to  bring  home  the  girl,  remembering  the  anxiety 
of  that  night  when  Huldbrand  had  first  come  to 
the  cottage.  Undine,  however,  met  them,  clap- 
ping her  little  hands  with  delight.  "  What  will 
you  give  me,"  she  said,  to  provide  you  with 
wine?"  or  rather,  "you  need  not  give  me  any- 
thing," she  continued,  for  I  am  satisfied  if  you 
will  look  merrier  and  be  in  better  spirits  than 
you  have  been  throughout  this  whole  wearisome 
day.  Only  come  with  me ;  the  forest  stream 
has  driven  ashore  a  cask,  and  I  will  be  con- 
demned to  sleep  through  a  whole  week  if  it  is 
not  a  wine-cask."  The  men  followed  her,  and 
in  a  sheltered  creek  on  the  shore,  they  actually 
found  a  cask,  which  inspired  them  with  the  hope 
that  it  contained  the  generous  drink  for  which 
they  were  thirsting. 

They  at  once  rolled  it  as  quickly  as  possible 
toward  the  cottage,  for  the  western  sky  was 
overcast  with  heavy  storm-clouds,  and  they 
could  observe  in  the  twilight  the  waves  of  the 
lake  raising  their  white,  foaming  heads,  as  if 


54 


UNDINE 


looking  out  for  the  rain  which  was  presently  to 
pour  down  upon  them.  Undine  helped  the  men 
as  much  as  she  was  able,  and  when  the  storm  of 
rain  suddenly  burst  over  them,  she  said,  with 
a  merry  threat  to  the  heavy  clouds:  ''Come, 
come,  take  care  that  you  don't  wet  us ;  we  are 
still  some  way  from  shelter."  The  old  man 
reproved  her  for  this,  as  simple  presumption, 
but  she  laughed  softly  to  herself,  and  no  mis- 
chief befell  any  one  in  consequence  of  her  levity. 
'Nay,  more;  contrary  to  all  expectation,  they 
reached  the  comfortable  hearth  with  their  booty 
perfectly  dry,  and  it  was  not  till  they  had  opened 
the  cask,  and  had  proved  that  it  contained  some 
wonderfully  excellent  wine,  that  the  rain  burst 
forth  from  the  dark  cloud,  and  the  storm  raged 
among  the  tops  of  the  trees,  and  over  the  agi- 
tated billows  of  the  lake. 

Several  bottles  were  soon  filled  from  the  great 
cask,  which  promised  a  supply  for  many  days, 
and  they  were  sitting  drinking  and  jesting  round 
the  glowing  fire,  feeling  comfortcibly  secured 
from  the  raging  storm  without.  Suddenly  the 
old  fisherman  became  very  grave  and   said : 


ON  THE  PROMONTORY. 


55 


Ah,  great  God !  here  we  are  rejoicing  over 
this  rich  treasure,  and  he  to  whom  it  once  be- 
longed, and  of  whom  the  floods  have  robbed  it, 
has  probably  los  this  precious  life  in  their  waters." 

"That  he  has  not,"  declared  Undine,  as  she 
smilingly  filled  the  knight's  cup  to  the  brim. 

But  Huldbrand  replied:  **  By  my  honor,  old 
father,  if  I  knew  where  to  find  and  to  rescue 
him,  no  knightly  errand  and  no  danger  would  I 
shirk.  So  much,  however,  I  can  promise  you, 
that  if  ever  again  I  reach  more  inhabited  lands, 
I  will  find  out  the  owner  of  this  wine  or  his  heirs, 
and  requite  it  twofold,  nay,  threefold." 

This  delighted  the  old  man ;  he  nodded 
approvingly  to  the  knight,  and  drained  his  cup 
with  a  better  conscience  and  greater  pleasure. 

Undine,  however,  said  to  Huldbrand:  ''Do 
as  you  will  with  your  gold  and  your  reimburse- 
ment ;  but  you  spoke  foolishly  about  the  ven- 
turing out  in  search  ;  I  should  cry  my  eyes  out, 
if  you  were  lost  in  the  attempt,  and  isn't  it  true, 
that  you  would  yourself  rather  stay  with  me  and 
the  good  wine? " 

**  Yes,  indeed,"  answered  Huldbrand,  smiling. 


56 


UNDINE. 


Then,"  said  Undine,  "  you  spoke  unwisely. 
For  charity  begins  at  home,  and  what  do  other 
people  concern  us  ? 

The  old  woman  turned  away  sighing  and  shak- 
ing her  head  ;  the  fisherman  forgot  his  wonted 
affection  for  the  pretty  girl  and  scolded  her. 

It  sounds  exactly,''  said  he,  as  he  finished 
his  reproof,  "as  if  Turks  and  heathens  had 
brought  you  up  ;  may  God  forgive  both  me  and 
you,  you  spoiled  child." 

Weil,"  replied  Undine,  for  all  that,  it  is 
what  I  feel,  let  who  will  have  brought  me  up, 
and  all  your  words  can't  help  that." 

''Silence!"  exclaimed  the  fisherman,  and 
Undine,  who,  in  spite  of  her  pertness,  was  ex- 
ceedingly fearful,  shrank  from  him,  and  moving 
tremblingly  toward  Huldbrand,  asked  him  in  a 
soft  tone  :  "  Are  you  also  angry,  dear  friend  .^^ " 

The  knight  pressed  her  tender  hand  and 
stroked  her  hair.  He  could  say  nothing,  for 
vexation  at  the  old  man's  severity  toward  Undine 
closed  his  lips  ;  and  thus  the  two  couples  sat 
opposite  to  each  other,  with  angry  feelings  and 
embarrassed  silence. 


OF  A  NUPTIAL  CEREMONY.  57 


CHAPTER  VI. 

OF  A  NUPTIAL  CEREMONY. 

A  LOW  knocking  at  the  door  was  heard  in  the 
midst  of  this  stillness,  startling  all  the  inmates 
of  the  cottage ;  for  there  are  times  when  a  little 
circumstance,  happenmg  quite  unexpectedly, 
can  unduly  alarm  us.  But  there  was  here  the 
additional  cause  of  alarm  that  the  enchanted 
forest  lay  so  near,  and  that  the  little  promontory 
seemed  just  now  inaccessible  to  human  bemgs. 
They  looked  at  each  other  doubtingly,  as  the 
knocking  was  repeated  accompanied  by  a  deep 
groan,  and  the  knight  sprang  to  reach  his  sword. 
But  the  old  man  whispered  softly:  If  it  be 
what  I  fear,  no  weapon  will  help  us." 

Undine  meanwhile  approached  the  door  and 
called  out  angrily  and  boldly:  ''Spirits  of  the 
earth,  if  you  wish  to  carry  on  your  mischief, 
Kuhleborn  shall  teach  you  something  better." 


58 


UNDINE. 


The  terror  of  the  rest  was  increased  by  these 
mysterious  words  ;  they  looked  fearfully  at  the 
girl,  and  Huldbrand  was  just  regaining  courage 
enough  to  ask  what  she  meant,  when  a  voice 
said  without :  "I  am  no  s^iri^qfjthe  earth,  but 
a  spirit  indeed  still  within  its  earthly  body. 
You  within  the  cottage,  if  you  fear  God  and  will 
help  me,  open  to  me.*"  At  these  words,  Undine 
had  already  opened  the  door,  and  had  held  a 
lamp  out  in  the  stormy  night,  by  which  they 
perceived  an  aged  priest  standing  there,  who 
stepped  back  in  terror  at  the  unexpected  sight 
of  the  beautiful  maiden.  He  might  well  think 
that  witchcraft  and  magic  were  at  work  when 
such  a  lovely  form  appeared  at  such  an  humble 
cottage  door:    he  therefore   began   to  pray: 

All  good  spirits  praise  the  Lord  ! " 

*'I  am  no  spectre,"  said  Undine,  smiling; 

do  1  then  look  so  ugly  ?  Besides  you  may  see 
the  holy  words  do  not  frighten  me.  I  too  know 
of  God,  and  understand  how  to  praise  Him; 
every  one  to  be  sure  in  his  own  way,  for  so  He 
has  created  us.  Come  in,  venerable  father; 
you  come  among  good  people." 


OF  A  NUPTIAL   CEREMONY.  59 


The  holy  man  entered,  bowing  and  looking 
round  him,  with  a  profound,  yet  tender  de- 
meanor. But  the  water  was  dropping  from 
every  fold  of  his  dark  garment,  and  from  his 
long  white  beard  and  from  his  gray  locks.  The 
fisherman  and  the  knight  took  him  to  another 
apartment  and  furnished  him  with  other  clothes, 
while  they  gave  the  women  his  own  wet  attire 
to  dry.  The  aged  stranger  thanked  them  hum- 
bly and  courteously,  but  he  w^ould  on  no  account 
accept  the  knight's  splendid  mantle,  which  was 
offered  to  him ;  but  he  chose  instead  an  old 
gray  overcoat  belonging  to  the  fisherman.  They 
then  returned  to  the  apartment,  and  the  good 
old  dame  immediately  vacated  her  easy-chair 
for  the  reverend  father,  and  would  not  rest  till 
he  had  taken  possession  of  it.  *'  For,"  said 
she,  "you  are  old  and  exhausted,  and  you  are 
moreover  a  man  of  God.''  Undine  pushed 
under  the  stranger's  feet  her  little  stool,  on 
which  she  had  been  wont  to  sit  by  the  side  of 
Huldbrand,  and  she  showed  herself  in  every 
way  most  gentle  and  kind  in  her  care  of  the 
good  old   man.    Huldbrand  whispered  some 


6o 


UNDINE. 


raillery  at  it  in  her  ear,  but  she  replied  very 
seriously  :  He  is  a  servant  of  Him  who  created 
us  all ;  holy  things  are  not  to  be  jested  with." 
The  knight  and  the  fisherman  then  refreshed 
their  reverend  guest  with  food  and  wine,  and 
when  he  had  somewhat  recovered  himself,  he 
began  to  relate  how  he  had  the  day  before  set 
out  from  his  cloister,  which  lay  far  beyond  the 
great  lake,  intending  to  travel  to  the  bishop,  in 
order  to  acquaint  him  with  the  distress  into 
which  the  monastery  and  its  tributary  villages 
had  fallen  on  account  of  the  extraordinary 
floods. 

After  a  long,  circuitous  route,  which  these  very 
floods  had  obliged  him  to  take,  he  had  been  this 
day  compelled,  toward  evening,  to  procure  the 
aid  of  a  couple  of  good  boatmen  to  cross  an  arm 
of  the  lake,  which  had  overflowed  its  banks. 

"  Scarcely  however,*^  continued  he,  had  our 
small  craft  touched  the  waves,  than  that  furious 
tempest  burst  forth  which  is  now  raging  over  our 
heads.  It  seemed  as  if  the  waters  had  only 
waited  for  us,  to  commence  their  wildest  whirl- 
ing dance  with  our  little  boat.    The  oars  were 


OF  A  NUPTIAL  CEREMONY,       6 1 


soon  torn  out  of  the  hands  of  my  men,  and  were 
dashed  by  the  force  of  the  waves  further  and 
further  beyond  our  reach.  We  ourselves,  yield- 
ing to  the  resistless  powers  of  nature,  helplessly 
drifted  over  the  surging  billows  of  the  lake  toward 
your  distant  shore,  which  we  already  saw  loom- 
ing through  the  mist  and  foam.  Presently  our 
boat  turned  round  and  round  as  in  a  giddy  whirl- 
pool ;  I  know  not  whether  it  was  upset,  or  whether 
1  fell  overboard.  In  a  vague  terror  of  inevitable 
death  I  drifted  on,  till  a  wave  cast  me  here, 
under  the  trees  on  your  island." 

Yes,  island  !  "  cried  the  fisherman  ;  "a  short 
time  ago  it  was  only  a  point  of  land  ;  but  now, 
since  the  forest-stream  and  the  lake  have  become 
well-nigh  bewitched,  things  are  quite  different 
with  us." 

"  I  remarked  something  of  the  sort,"  said  the 
priest,  '*as  I  crept  along  the  shore  in  the  dark, 
and  hearing  nothing  but  the  uproar  around  me, 
I  at  last  perceived  that  a  beaten  foot-path  disap- 
peared just  in  the  direction  from  which  the  sound 
proceeded.  I  now  saw  the  light  in  your  cottage, 
and  ventured  hither,  and  I  cannot  sufficiently 


62 


UNDINE. 


thank  my  heavenly  Father  that  after  preserving 
me  from  the  vi^aters,  He  has  led  me  to  such  good 
and  pious  people  as  you  are  ;  and  I  feel  this  all 
the  more,  as  I  do  not  know  whether  I  shall  ever 
behold  any  other  beings  in  this  world,  except 
those  I  now  address.'^ 

What  do  you  mean?^'  asked  the  fisherman. 

Do  you  know  then  how  long  this  commotion 
of  the  elements  is  to  last  ?  "  replied  the  holy  man. 

And  I  am  old  in  years.  Easily  enough  may  the 
stream  of  my  life  run  itself  out  before  the  over- 
flowing of  the  forest-stream  may  subside.  And 
indeed  it  were  not  impossible  that  more  and  more 
of  the  foaming  waters  may  force  their  way  be- 
tween you  and  yonder  forest,  until  you  are  so  far 
sundered  from  the  rest  of  the  world  that  your 
little  fishing-boat  will  no  longer  be  sufficient  to 
carry  you  across,  and  the  inhabitants  of  the  con- 
tinent in  the  midst  of  their  diversions  will  have 
entirely  forgotten  you  in  your  old  age." 

The  fisherman's  wife  started  at  this,  crossed 
herself  and  exclaimed,  God  forbid  ! "  But  her 
husband  looked  at  her  with  a  smile,  and  said : 
**  What  creatures  we  are  after  all !  even  were  it 


OF  A  NUPTIAL  CEREMONY.  63 


so,  things  would  not  be  very  different  —  at  least 
not  for  you,  dear  wife  —  than  they  now  are. 
For  have  you  for  many  years  been  further  than 
the  edge  of  the  forest  ?  and  have  you  seen  any 
other  human  beings  than  Undine  and  myself? 
The  knight  and  this  holy  man  have  only  come 
to  us  lately.  They  will  remain  with  us  if  we  do 
become  a  forgotten  island ;  so  you  would  even 
be  a  gainer  by  it  after  all." 

I  don't  know,''  said  the  old  w^oman  ;  "  it  is 
somehow  a  gloomy  thought,  when  one  imagines 
that  one  is  irrecoverably  separated  from  other 
people,  although,  were  it  otherwise,  one  might 
neither  know  nor  see  them." 

Then  you  will  remain  with  us!  then  you 
will  remain  with  us  ! "  whispered  Undine,  in  a 
low,  half-singing  tone,  as  she  nestled  closer 
to  Huldbrand's  side.  But  he  was  absorbed 
in  ,the  deep  and  strange  visions  of  his  own 
mind. 

The  region  on  the  other  side  of  the  forest- 
river  seemed  to  dissolve  into  distance  during  the 
priest's  last  words ;  and  the  blooming  island 
upon  which  he  lived  grew  more  green,  and 


64 


UNDINE, 


smiled  more  freshly  in  his  mind^s  vision.  His 
beloved  one  glowed  as  the  fairest  rose  of  this 
little  spot  of  earth,  and  even  of  the  whole  world, 
and  the  priest  was  actually  there.  Added  to  this, 
at  that  moment  an  angry  glance  from  the  old 
dame  was  directed  at  the  beautiful  girl,  because 
even  in  the  presence  of  the  reverend  father  she 
leaned  so  closely  on  the  knight,  and  it  seemed 
as  if  a  torrent  of  reproving  words  were  on  the 
point  of  following.  Presently,  turning  to  the 
priest,  Huldbrand  broke  forth:  Venerable 
father,  you  see  before  you  here  a  pair  pledged 
to  each  other ;  and  if  this  maiden  and  these  good 
old  people  have  no  objection,  you  shall  unite  us 
this  very  evening."  The  aged  couple  were  ex- 
tremely surprised.  They  had,  it  is  true,  hitherto 
often  thought  of  something  of  the  sort,  but  they 
had  never  yet  expressed  it,  and  when  the  knight 
now  spoke  thus,  it  came  upon  them  as  some- 
thing wholly  new  and  unprecedented. 

Undine  had  become  suddenly  grave,  and 
looked  down  thoughtfully  while  the  priest 
inquired  respecting  the  circumstances  of  the 
case,  and  asked  if  the  old  people  gave  their 


OF  A  NUPTIAL  CEREMONY.  65 


consent.  After  much  discussion  together,  the 
matter  was  settled ;  the  old  dame  went  to 
arrange  the  bridal  chamber  for  the  young  peo- 
ple, and  to  look  out  two  consecrated  tapers  which 
she  had  had  in  her  possession  for  some  time, 
and  which  she  thought  essential  to  the  nuptial 
ceremony.  The  knight  in  the  mean  while  exam- 
ined his  gold  chain,  from  which  he  wished  to 
disengage  two  rings,  that  he  might  make  an 
exchange  of  them  with  his  bride. 

She,  however,  observing  what  he  was  doing, 
started  up  from  her  reverie,  and  exclaimed : 
**  Not  so!  my  parents  have  not  sent  me  into 
the  world  quite  destitute ;  on  the  contrary,  they 
must  have  anticipated  with  certainty  that  such 
an  evening  as  this  would  come."  Thus  saying, 
she  quickly  left  the  room  and  reappeared  in  a 
moment  with  two  costly  rings,  one  of  which  she 
^ave  to  her  bridegroom,  and  kept  the  other  for 
herself.  The  old  fisherman  was  extremely 
astonished  at  this,  and  still  more  so  his  wife, 
who  just  then  entered,  for  neither  had  ever  seen 
these  jewels  in  the  child's  possession. 

*'My  parents,"  said  Undine,  **  sewed  these 


66 


UNDINE. 


little  things  into  the  beautiful  frock  which  I  had 
on,  when  I  came  to  you.  They  forbid  me, 
moreover,  to  mention  them  to  anyone  before 
my  wedding  evening,  so  I  secretly  took  them» 
and  kept  them  concealed  until  now." 

The  priest  interrupted  all  further  questionings 
by  lighting  the  consecrated  tapers,  which  he 
placed  upon  a  table,  and  summoned  the  bridal 
pair  to  stand  opposite  to  him.  He  then  gave 
them  to  each  other  with  a  few  short  solemn 
words ;  the  elder  couple  gave  their  blessing  to 
the  younger,  and  the  bride,  trembling  and 
thoughtful,  leaned  upon  the  knight.  Then 
the  priest  suddenly  said:  You  are  strange 
people  after  all.  Why  did  you  tell  me  you 
were  the  only  people  here  on  the  island?  and 
during  the  whole  ceremony,  a  tall  stately  man, 
in  a  v/hite  mantle,  has  been  looking  at  me 
through  the  window  opposite.  He  must  still  be 
standing  before  the  door,  to  see  if  you  will  invite 
him  to  come  into  the  house."*' 

*'  God  forbid,"  said  the  old  dame  with  a  start ; 
the  fisherman  shook  his  head  in  silence,  and 
Huldbrand  sprang  to  the  window.    It  seemed 


OF  A  NUPTIAL  CEREMONY.  6/ 


even  to  him  as  if  he  could  still  see  a  white 
streak,  but  it  soon  completely  disappeared  in 
the  darkness.  He  convinced  the  priest  that  he 
must  have  been  absolutely  mistaken,  and  they 
all  sat  down  together  round  the  hearth 


68 


UNDINE, 


CHAPTER  VII. 

WHAT  FURTHER    HAPPENED   ON   THE  EVENING 
OF  THE  WEDDING. 

Both  before  and  during  the  ceremony,  Un- 
dine had  shown  herself  gentle  and  quiet ;  but 
it  now  seemed  as  if  all  the  wa^^ard  humors 
which  rioted  within  her,  burst  forth  all  the 
more  boldly  and  unrestrainedly.  She  teased 
her  bridegroom  and  her  foster-parents,  and 
even  the  holy  man  whom  she  had  so  lately  rev- 
erenced, with  alt  sorts  of  childish  tricks ;  and 
when  the  old  woman  was  about  to  reprove  her, 
she  was  quickly  silenced  by  a  few  grave  words 
from  the  knight,  speaking  of  Undine  now  as 
his  wife.  Nevertheless,  the  knight  himself  was 
equally  little  pleased  with  Undine's  childish 
behavior ;  but  no  signs,  and  no  reproachful 
words  were  of  any  avail.  It  is  true,  whenever 
the  bride  noticed  her  husband's  dissatisfaction 


EVENING  OF  THE  WEDDING.  69 


—  and  this  occurred  occasionally  —  she  became 
more  quiet,  sat  down  by  his  side,  caressed  him, 
whispered  somethmg  smilingly  mto  his  ear,  and 
smoothed  the  wrinkles  that  were  gathering  on 
his  brow.  But  immediately  afterward,  some 
wild  freak  would  again  lead  her  to  return  to  her 
ridiculous  proceedings,  and  matters  would  be 
worse  than  before.  At  length  the  priest  said  in 
a  serious  and  kind  tone  :  My  fair  young  maiden, 
no  one  indeed  can  look  at  you  without  delight ; 
but  remember  so  to  attune  your  soul  betimes, 
that  it  may  ever  harmonize  with  that  of  your 
wedded  husband. 

**  Soul !  "  said  Undine,  laughing  ;  that  sounds 
pretty  enough,  and  may  be  a  very  edifying  and 
useful  caution  for  most  people.  But  when  one 
hasn't  a  soul  at  all,  I  beg  you,  what  is  there  to 
attune  then?  and  that  is  my  case."  The  priest 
was  silent  and  deeply  wounded,  and  with  holy 
displeasure  he  turned  his  face  from  the  girl. 
She,,  however,  went  up  to  him  caressingly,  and 
said:  '*No!  listen  to  me  first,  before  you  look 
angry,  for  your  look  of  anger  gives  me  pain,  and 
you  must  not  give  pain  to  any  creature  who  has 


70 


UNDINE. 


done  you  no  wrong  —  only  have  patience  with 
me,  and  1  will  tell  you  properly  what  I  mean." 

It  was  evident  that  she  was  preparing  herself 
to  explain  something  in  detail,  but  suddenly  she 
hesitated,  as  if  seized  with  an  inward  shuddering^ 
and  burst  out  into  a  flood  of  tears.  They  none 
of  them  knew  what  to  make  of  this  ebullition, 
and  filled  with  various  apprehensions  they  gazed 
at  her  in  silence.  At  length,  wiping  away  her 
tears,  and  looking  earnestly  at  the  reverend  man, 
she  said  :  *'  There  must  be  something  beautiful, 
but  at  the  same  time  extremely  awful,  about  a 
soul.  Tell  me,  holy  sir,  were  it  not  better  that 
we  never  shared  such  a  gift  ?  "  She  was  silent 
again  as  if  waiting  for  an  answer,  and  her  tears 
had  ceased  to  flow.  All  in  the  cottage  had  risen 
from  their  seats  and  had  stepped  back  from  her 
with  horror.  She,  however,  seemed  to  have  eyes 
for  no  one  but  the  holy  man ;  her  features  wore 
an  expression  of  fearful  curiosity,  which  appeared 
terrible  to  those  who  saw  her.  "  The  soul  must 
be  a  heavy  burden,"  she  continued,  as  no  one 
answered  her,  "very  heavy!  for  even  its  ap- 
proaching image  overshadows  me  with  anxiety 


EVENING  OF  THE   WEDDING.  J\ 


and  sadness.  And,  ah!  I  was  so  light-hearted 
and  so  merry  till  now  !  ^'  And  she  burst  into  a 
fresh  flood  of  tears,  and  covered  her  face  with 
the  drapery  she  wore.  Then  the  priest  went  up 
to  her  with  a  solemn  air,  and  spoke  to  her,  and 
conjured  her  by  the  name  of  the  Most  Holy  to 
cast  aside  the  veil  that  enveloped  her,  if  any 
spirit  of  evil  possessed  her.  But  she  sank  on 
her  knees  before  him,  repeating  all  the  sacred 
words  he  uttered,  praising  God,  and  protest- 
ing that  she  wished  well  with  the  whole 
world. 

Then  at  last  the  priest  said  to  the  knight : 
*'  Sir  bridegroom,  I  will  leave  you  alone  with 
her  whom  I  have  united  to  you  in  marriage. 
So  far  as  I  can  discover  there  is  nothing  of  evil 
in  her,  but  much  indeed  that  is  mysterious.  I 
commend  to  you  — prudence,  love,  and  fidelity." 
So  saying,  he  went  out,  and  the  fisherman  and 
his  wife  followed  him,  crossing  themselves. 

Undine  had  sunk  on  her  knees  ;  she  unveiled 
her  face  and  said,  looking  timidly  round  on 
Huldbrand :  **Alas!  you  will  surely  now  not 
keep  me  as  your  own ;  and  yet  I  have  done  no 


72 


UNDINE 


evil,  poor  child  that  I  am !  ^'  As  she  said  this, 
she  looked  so  exquisitely  graceful  and  touching, 
that  her  bridegroom  forgot  all  the  horro-r  he  had 
felt,  and  all  the  mystery  that  clung  to  her,  and 
hastening  to  her  he  raised  her  in  his  arms.  She 
smiled  through  her  tears ;  it  was  a  smile  like 
the  morning-light  playing  on  a  little  stream. 
**  You  cannot  leave  me,"  she  whispered,  with 
confident  security,  stroking  the  knight's  cheek 
with  her  tender  hand.  Huldbrand  tried  to  d«is- 
miss  the  fearful  thoughts  that  still  lurked  in  the 
background  of  his  mind,  persuading  him  that  he 
was  married  to  a  fairy  or  to  some  malicious  and 
mischievous  being  of  the  spirit  world,  only  the 
single  question  half  unawares  escaped  his  lips : 
**  My  little  Undine,  tell  me  this  one  thing,  what 
was  it  you  said  of  spirits  of  the  earth  and  of 
Kuhleborn,  when  the  priest  knocked  at  the 
door?" 

**It  was  nothing  but  fairy  tales!  —  children's 
fairy  tales  ! "  said  Undine,  with  all  her  wonted 
gayety;     I  frightened  you  at  first  with  them, 
and  then  you  frightened  me,  that's  the  end 
our  story  and  of  our  nuptial  evening." 


DA  V  AFTER  THE  WEDDING. 


capricious  spirit  burst  forth.  But  they  waited 
in  vain  for  it.  Undine  remained  as  mild  and 
gentle  as  an  angel.  The  holy  father  could  not 
take  his  eyes  from  her,  and  he  said  repeatedly 
to  the  bridegroom  :  **  The  goodness  of  heaven, 
sir,  has  intrusted  a  treasure  to  you  yesterday 
through  me,  unworthy  as  I  am ;  cherish  it  as 
you  ought,  and  it  will  promote  your  temporal 
and  eternal  welfare." 

Toward  evening  Undine  was  hanging  on  the 
knight's  arm  with  humble  tenderness,  and  drew 
him  gently  out  of  the  door,  where  the  declining 
sun  was  shining  pleasantly  on  the  fresh  grass, 
and  upon  the  tall,  slender  stems  of  the  trees. 
The  eyes  of  the  young  wife  were  moist,  as  with 
the  dew  of  sadness  and  love,  and  a  tender  and 
fearful  secret  seemed  hovenng  on  her  lips, 
which,  however,  was  only  disclosed  by  scarcely 
audible  sighs.  She  led  her  husband  onward 
and  onward  in  silence ;  when  he  spoke,  she  only 
answered  him  with  looks,  in  which,  it  is  true, 
there  lay  no  direct  reply  to  his  inquiries,  but  a 
whole  heaven  of  love  and  timid  devotion.  Thus 
they  reached  the  edge  of  the  swollen  forest 


78 


UNDINE. 


stream,  and  the  knight  was  astonished  to  see  it 
rippling  along  in  gentle  waves,  without  a  trace 
of  its  former  wildness  and  swell.  **  By  the 
morning  it  will  be  quite  dry,"  said  the  beautiful 
wife,  in  a  regretful  tone,  and  you  can  then 
travel  away  wherever  you  will,  without  anything 
to  hinder  you." 

Not  without  you,  my  little  Undine,"  replied 
the  knight,  laughing;  remember,  even  if  I 
wished  to  desert  you,  the  church,  and  the  spirit- 
ual powers,  and  the  emperor,  and  the  empire 
would  interpose  and  bring  the  fugitive  back 
again." 

**A11  depends  upon  you,  all  depends  upon 
you,"  whispered  his  wife,  half-weeping  and  half- 
smiling.  I  think,  however,  nevertheless,  that 
you  will  keep  me  with  you ;  I  love  you  so 
heartily.  Now  carry  me  across  to  that  little 
island  that  lies  before  us.  The  matter  shall  be 
decided  there.  I  could  easily  indeed  glide 
through  the  rippling  waves,  but  it  is  so  restful 
in  your  arms,  and  if  you  were  to  cast  me  off,  I 
shall  have  sweetly  rested  in  them  once  more  for 
the  last  time."    Huldbrand,  full  as  he  was  of 


DA  Y  AFTER  THE  WEDDING,  79 


strange  fear  and  emotion,  knew  not  what  to 
reply.  He  took  her  in  his  arms  and  carried  her 
across,  remembering  now  for  the  first  time  that 
this  was  the  same  httle  island  from  which  he 
had  borne  her  back  to  the  old  fisherman  on  that 
first  night.  On  the  further  side  he  put  her 
down  on  the  soft  grass,  and  was  on  the  pomt  of 
placing  himself  lovingly  near  his  beautiful  bur- 
den, when  she  said:  No,  there  opposite  to 
me  !  I  will  read  my  sentence  in  your  eyes, 
before  your  lips  speak ;  now,  listen  attentively 
to  what  I  will  relate  to  you.''  And  she  began  :  — 
You  must  know,  my  loved  one,  that  there 
are  beings  in  the  elements  which  almost  appear 
like  mortals,  and  which  rarely  allow  themselves 
to  become  visible  to  your  race.  Wonderful 
salamanders  glitter  and  sport  in  the  flames  ; 
lean  and  malicious  gnomes  dwell  deep  within 
the  earth ;  spirits,  belonging  to  the  air,  wander 
through  the  forests,  and  a  vast  family  of  water- 
spirits  live  in  the  lakes,  and  streams,  and  brooks . 
In  resoundmg  domes  of  crystal,  through  which 
the  sky  looks  in  with  its  sun  and  stars »  these 
latter  spirits  find  their  beautiful  abode;  lofty 


8o 


UNDINE. 


trees  of  coral  with  blue  and  crimson  fruits  gleam 
in  their  gardens ;  they  wander  over  the  pure 
sand  of  the  sea,  and  among  lovely  variegated 
shells,  and  amid  all  exquisite  treasures  of  the 
old  world,  which  the  present  is  no  longer  worthy 
to  enjoy ;  all  these  the  floods  have  covered  with 
their  secret  veils  of  silver,  and  the  noble  monu- 
ments sparkle  below,  stately  and  solemn,  and 
bedewed  by  the  loving  waters  which  allure  from 
them  many  a  beautiful  moss-flower  and  entwin- 
ing cluster  of  sea-grass.  Those,  however,  who 
dwell  there  are  very  fair  and  lovely  to  behold, 
and  for  the  most  part  are  more  beautiful  than 
human  beings.  Many  a  fisherman  has  been  so 
fortunate  as  to  surprise  some  tender  mermaid  as 
she  rose  above  the  waters  and  sang.  He  would 
tell  afar  of  her  beauty,  and  such  wonderful 
beings  have  been  given  the  name  of  Undines. 
You,  however,  are  now  actually  beholding  an 
Undine." 

The  knight  tried  to  persuade  himself  that  his 
beautiful  wife  was  under  the  spell  of  one  of  her 
strange  humors,  and  that  she  was  taking  pleas- 
ure in  teasing  him  with  one  of  her  extravagant 


DAY  AFTER  THE  WEDDING,  Si 


inventions.  But  repeatedly  as  he  said  this  to 
himself,  he  could  not  believe  it  for  a  moment ; 
a  strange  shudder  passed  through  him  ;  unable 
to  utter  a  word,  he  stared  at  the  beautiful  nar- 
rator with  an  immovable  gaze.  Undine  shook 
her  head  sorrowfully,  drew  a  deep  sigh,  and  then 
proceeded  as  follows  :  — 

**  Our  condition  would  be  far  superior  to  that 
of  other  human  beings  —  for  human  beings  we 
call  ourselves,  being  similar  to  them  in  form 
and  culture  —  but  there  is  one  evil  peculiar  to 
us.  We  and  our  like  in  the  other  elements, 
vanish  into  dust  and  pass  away,  body  and  spirit, 
so  that  not  a  vestige  of  us  remains  behind ;  and 
when  you  mortals  hereafter  awake  to  a  purer 
life,  we  remain  with  the  sand  and  the  sparks  and 
the  wind  and  the  waves.  Hence  we  have  also 
no  souls  ;  the  element  moves  us,  and  is  often 
obedient  to  us  while  we  live,  though  it  scatters 
us  to  dust  when  we  die ;  and  we  are  merry, 
without  having  aught  to  grieve  us  —  merry  as 
the  nightingales  and  the  little  gold-fishes  and 
other  pretty  children  of  nature.  But  all  things 
aspire  to  be  higher  than  they  are.    Thus,  my 


82 


UNDINE. 


father,  who  is  a  powerful  water-prince  in  the 
Mediterranean  Sea,  desired  that  his  only  daugh- 
ter should  become  possessed  of  a  soul,  even 
though  she  must  then  endure  many  of  the  suf- 
ferings of  those  thus  endowed.  Such  as  we  are, 
however,  can  only  obtain  a.  soul  by  the  closest- 
union  of  affection  with  one  of  your  human. race. 
I  am  now  possessed  of  a  soul,  and  my  soul 
thanks  you,  my  inexpressibly  beloved  one,  and 
it  will  ever  thank  you,  if  you  do  not  make  my 
whole  life  miserable.  For  what  is  to  become  of 
me,  if  you  avoid  and  reject  me?  Stdl,  I  would 
not  retain  you  by  deceit.  And  if  you  mean  to 
reject  me,  do  so  now,  and  return  alone  to  the 
shore.  I  will  dive  into  this  brook,  which  is  my 
uncle ;  and  here  in  the  forest,  far  removed  from 
other  friends,  he  passes  his  strange  and  solitary 
life.  He  is,  however,  powerful,  and  is  esteemed 
and  beloved  by  many  great  streams  ;  and  as  he 
brought  me  hither  to  the  fisherman,  a  light- 
hearted,  laughing  child,  he  will  take  me  back 
again  to  my  parents,  a  loving,  suffering,  and 
soul-endowed  woman." 

She  was  about  to  say  still  more,  but  Huld- 


EVENING  OF  THE  WEDDING.  73 


**  Nay!  that  it  isn't,"  said  the  knight,  intoxi- 
cated with  love,  and  extinguishing  the  tapers, 
he  bore  his  beautiful  beloved  to  the  bridal 
chamber  by  the  light  of  the  moon  which  shone 
brightly  through  the  winaows. 


74 


UNDINE. 


CHAPTER  VJIL 

THE  DAY  AFTER  THE  WEDDING. 

The  fresh  light  of  the  morning  awoke  the 
young  married  pair.  Wonderful  and  horrible 
dreams  had  disturbed  Huldbrand's  rest ;  he  had 
been  haunted  by  spectres,  who,  grinning  at  him 
by  stealth,  had  tried  to  disguise  themselves  as 
beautiful  women,  and  from  beautiful  women  they 
all  at  once  assumed  the  faces  of  dragons,  and 
when  he  started  up  from  these  hideous  visions, 
the  moonlight  shone  pale  and  cold  into  the 
room ;  terrified  he  looked  at  Undine,  who  still 
lay  in  unaltered  beauty  and  grace.  Then  he 
would  press  a  light  kiss  upon  her  rosy  lips,  and 
would  fall  asleep  again  only  to  be  awakened  by 
new  terrors.  After  he  had  reflected  on  all  this, 
now  that  he  was  fully  awake,  he  reproached 
himself  for  any  doubt  that  could  have  led  him 
into  error  with  regard  to  his  beautiful  wife. 
He  begged  her  to  forgive  him  for  the  injustice 


DA  V  AFTER  THE  WEDDING.  75 


he  had  done  her,  but  she  only  held  out  to 
him  her  fair  hand,  sighed  deeply,  and  remained 
silent.  But  a  glance  of  exquisite  fervor  beamed 
from  her  eyes  such  as  he  had  never  seen  before, 
carrying  with  it  the  full  assurance  that  Undine 
bore  him  no  ill-will.  He  then  rose  cheerfully 
and  left  her,  to  join  his  friends  in  the  common 
apartment. 

He  found  the  three  sitting  round  the  hearth, 
with  an  air  of  anxiety  about  them,  as  if  they 
dared  not  venture  to  speak  aloud.  The  priest 
seemed  to  be  praying  in  his  inmost  spirit  that 
all  evil  might  be  averted.  When,  however, 
they  saw  the  young  husband  come  forth  so 
cheerfully  the  careworn  expression  of  their  faces 
vanished. 

The  old  fisherman  even  began  to  jest  with 
the  knight,  so  pleasantly  that  the  aged  wife 
smiled  good-humoredly  as  she  listened  to  them. 
Undine  at  length  made  her  appearance.  All 
rose  to  meet  her,  and  all  stood  still  with  sur- 
prise, for  the  young  wife  seemed  so  strange  to 
them  and  yet  the  same.  The  priest  was  the 
first  to  advance  toward  her,  with  paternal  affec- 


76 


UNDINE. 


tion  beaming  m  his  face,  and,  as  he  raised  his 
hand  to  bless  her,  the  beautiful  woman  sank 
reverently  on  her  knees  before  him.  With  a 
few  humble  and  gracious  words  she  begged  him 
to  forgive  her  for  any  foolish  things  she  might 
have  said  the  evening  before,  and  entreated  him 
in  an  agitated  tone  to  pray  for  the  welfare  of 
her  soul.  She  then  rose,  kissed  her  foster- 
parents,  and  thanking  them  for  all  the  goodness 
they  had  shown  her,  she  exclaimed:  '*0h!  I 
now  feel  in  my  innermost  heart,  how  much,  how 
infinitely  much,  you  have  done  for  me,  dear, 
kind  people ! "  She  could  not  at  first  desist 
from  her  caresses,  but  scarcely  had  s4ie  per- 
ceived that  the  old  woman  was  busy  in  prepar- 
ing breakfast,  than  she  went  to  the  hearth, 
cooked  and  arranged  the  meal,  and  would  not 
suffer  the  good  old  mother  to  take  the  least 
trouble. 

She  continued  thus  throughout  the  whole 
day,  quiet,  kind,  and  attentive  —  at  once  a  little 
matron  and  a  tender,  bashful  girl.  The  three 
who  had  known  her  longest  expected  every 
moment  to  see  some  whimsical  vagary  of  her 


BAY  AFTER  THE  WEDDING,  83 


brand  embraced  her  with  the  most  heartfelt 
emotion  and  love,  and  bore  her  back  again  to 
the  shore.  It  was  not  till  he  reached  it,  that  he 
swore  amid  tears  and  kisses,  never  to  forsake 
his  sweet  wife,  calling  himself  more  happy  than 
the  Greek  Pygmalion,  whose  beautiful  statue 
received  life  from  Venus  and  became  his  loved 
one.  In  endearing  confidence.  Undine  walked 
back  to  the  cottage,  leaning  on  his  arm ;  feeling 
now  for  the  first  time,  with  all  her  heart,  how 
little  she  ought  to  regret  the  forsaken  crystal 
palaces  of  her  mysterious  father. 


84 


UNDINE, 


CHAPTER  IX. 

HOW  THE  KNIGHT  TOOK  HIS  YOUNG  WIFE 
WITH  HIM. 

When  Huldbrand  awoke  from  his  sleep  on 
the  following  morning,  and  missed  his  beautiful 
wife  from  his  side,  he  began  to  indulge  again  in 
the  strange  thoughts,  that  his  marriage  and  the 
charming  Undine  herself  were  but  fleeting  and 
deceptive  illusions.  But  at  the  same  moment 
she  entered  the  room,  sat  down  beside  him,  and 
said:  I  have  been  out  rather  early  to  see  if 
my  uncle  keeps  his  word.  He  has  already  led 
all  the  waters  back  again  into  his  own  calm 
channel,  and  he  now  flows  through  the  forest, 
solitarily  and  dreamily  as  before.  His  friends 
in  the  water  and  the  air  have  also  returned  to 
repose ;  all  will  again  go  on  quietly  and  regu- 
larly, and  you  can  travel  homeward  when  you 
will,  dry-shod."  It  seemed  to  Huldbrand  as 
though  he  were  in  a  waking  dream,  so  little 


THE  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  WIFE,  85 


could  he  reconcile  himself  to  the  strange  rela- 
tionship of  his  wife.  Nevertheless  he  made  no 
remark  on  the  matter,  and  the  exquisite  grace 
of  his  bride  soon  lulled  to  rest  every  uneasy 
misgiving.  When  he  was  afterward  standing 
before  the  door  with  her,  and  looking  over 
the  green  peninsula  with  its  boundary  of  clear 
waters,  he  felt  so  happy  in  this  cradle  of  his 
love,  that  he  exclaimed :  "  Why  shall  we  travel 
60  soon  as  to-day?  We  shall  scarcely  find  more 
pleasant  days  in  the  world  yonder  than  those 
we  have  spent  in  this  quiet  little  shelter.  Let 
us  yet  see  the  sun  go  down  here  twice  or  thrice 
more." 

**  As  my  lord  wills,"  replied  Undine,  humbly. 
**  It  is  only  that  the  old  people  will,  at  all  events, 
part  from  me  with  pain,  and  when  they  now  for 
the  first  time  perceive  the  true  soul  within  me, 
and  how  I  can  now  heartily  love  and  honor, 
their  feeble  eyes  will  be  dimmed  with  plentiful 
tears.  At  present  they  consider  my  quietness 
and  gentleness  of  no  better  promise  than  before, 
like  the  calmness  of  the  lake  when  the  air  is 
still ;  and,  as  matters  now^  are,  they  will  soon 


86 


UNDINE, 


learn  to  cherish  a  flower  or  a  tree  as  they  have 
cherished  me.  Do  not,  therefore,  let  me  reveal 
to  them  this  newly-bestowed  and  loving  heart, 
just  at  the  moment  when  they  must  lose  it  for 
this  world  ;  and  how  could  I  conceal  it,  if  we 
remain  longer  together?" 

Huldbrand  conceded  the  point ;  he  went  to 
the  aged  people  and  talked  with  them  over  the 
journey,  which  he  proposed  to  undertake  imme- 
diately. The  holy  father  offered  to  accompany 
the  young  married  pair,  and,  after  a  hasty  fare- 
well, he  and  the  knight  assisted  the  beautiful 
bride  to  mount  her  horse,  and  walked  with  rapid 
step  by  her  side  over  the  dry  channel  of  the 
forest-stream  into  the  wood  beyond.  Undine 
wept  silently  but  bitterly,  and  the  old  people 
gave  loud  expression  to  their  grief.  It  seemed 
as  if  they  had  a  presentiment  of  all  they  were 
now  losing  in  their  foster-child. 

The  three  travellers  had  reached  in  silence  the 
densest  shades  of  the  forest.  It  must  have  been 
a  fair  sight,  under  that  green  canopy  of  leaves^ 
to  see  Undine's  lovely  form,  as  she  sat  on  her 
noble  and  richly  ornamented  steed,  with  the 


THE  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  WIFE,  8/ 


venerable  priest  in  the  white  garb  of  his  order 
on  one  side  of  her,  and  on  the  other  the  bloom- 
ing young  kn'^'ht  in  his  gay  and  splendid  attire, 
with  his  sword  at  his  girdle.  Huldbrand  had 
no  eyes  but  for  his  beautiful  wife ;  Undine,  who 
had  dried  her  tears,  had  no  eyes  but  for  him, 
and  they  soon  fell  into  a  mute,  voiceless  converse 
of  glance  and  gesture,  from  which  they  were 
only  roused  at  length  by  the  low  talking  of  the 
reverend  father  with  a  fourth  traveller,  who  in 
the  mean  while  had  joined  them  unobserved. 

He  wore  a  white  garment  almost  resembling 
the  dress  of  the  priest^s  order,  except  that  his 
hood  hung  low  over  his  face,  and  his  whole 
attire  floated  round  him  in  such  vast  folds  that 
he  was  obliged  every  moment  to  gather  it  up, 
and  throw  it  over  his  arm,  or  dispose  of  it  in 
some  way,  and  yet  it  did  not  in  the  least  seem 
to  impede  his  movements.  When  the  young 
couple  first  perceived  him,  he  was  just  saying: 
**  And  so,  venerable  sir,  I  have  now  dwelt  for 
many  years  here  in  the  forest,  and  yet  no  one 
could  call  me  a  hermit,  in  your  sense  of  the 
word.    For,  as  I  said,  I  know  nothing  of  pen- 


88 


UNDINE. 


ance,  and  I  do  not  think  I  have  any  especial 
need  of  it.  I  love  the  forest  only  for  this  reason, 
that  its  beauty  is  quite  peculiar  to  itself,  and  it 
amuses  me  to  pass  along  in  my  flowing  white 
garments  among  the  leaves  and  dusky  shadows, 
while  now  and  then  a  sweet  sunbeam  shines 
down  unexpectedly  upon  me." 

**  You  are  a  very  strange  man,"  replied  the 
priest,  *'and  I  should  like  to  be  more  closely 
acquainted  with  you." 

**  And  to  pass  from  one  thing  to  another,  who 
may  you  be  yourself  ? "  asked  the  stranger. 

**  I  am  called  Father  Heilmann,"  said  the 
holy  man ;  and  I  come  from  the  monastery  of 
'  our  Lady '  which  lies  on  the  other  side  of  the 
lake." 

Indeed,"  replied  the  stranger;  *'  my  name 
is  Klihleborn,  and  so  far  as  courtesy  is  con- 
cerned, I  might  claim  the  title  of  Lord  of  Klihle- 
born, or  free  Lord  of  Klihleborn ;  for  I  am  as 
free  as  the  birds  in  the  forest  and  perhaps  a  little 
more  so.  For  example,  I  have  now  something 
to  say  to  the  young  lady  there."  And  before 
they  were  aware  of  his  intention,  he  was  at  the 


THE  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  WIFE,  89 


other  side  of  the  priest,  close  beside  Undine, 
stretching  himself  up  to  whisper  something  in 
her  ear. 

But  she  turned  from  him  with  alarm,  and 
exclaimed:  have  nothing  more  to  do  with 
you.*" 

**  Ho,  ho,-'  laughed  the  stranger,  what  is 
this  immensely  grand  marriage  you  have  made, 
that  you  don't  know  your  own  relations  any 
longer?  Have  you  forgotten  your  uncle  Kuhle- 
born,  who  so  faithfully  bore  you  on  his  back 
through  this  region?" 

**  I  beg  you,  nevertheless,"  replied  Undine, 
**  not  to  appear  in  my  presence  again.  I  am 
now  afraid  of  you ;  and  suppose  my  husband 
should  learn  to  avoid  me  when  he  sees  me  in 
such  strange  company  and  with  such  relations  ! " 

"  My  little  niece,"  said  Kiihleborn,  you  must 
not  forget  that  I  am  with  you  here  as  a  guide  ; 
the  spirits  of  earth  that  haunt  this  place  might 
otherwise  play  some  of  their  stupid  pranks  with 
you.  Let  me  therefore  go  quietly  on  with  you; 
the  old  priest  there  remembered  me  better  than 
you  appear  to  have  done,  for  he  assured  me  just 


go  UNDINE. 

m 

now  that  I  seemed  familiar  to  him,  and  that  I 
must  have  been  with  him  in  the  boat,  out  of 
which  he  fell  into  the  water.  I  was  so,  truly 
enough ;  for  I  was  the  water-spout  that  carried 
him  out  of  it  and  washed  him  safely  ashore  for 
your  wedding." 

Undine  and  the  knight  turned  toward  Father 
Heilmann ;  but  he  seemed  walking  on,  as  in  a 
sort  of  dream,  and  no  longer  to  be  conscious  of 
all  that  was  passing.  Undine  then  said  to 
Kuhleborn :  "I  see  yonder  the  end  of  the  for- 
est. We  no  longer  need  your  help,  and  nothing 
causes  us  alarm  but  yourself.  I  beg  you,  there- 
fore, in  all  love  and  good-will,  vanish,  and  let 
us  proceed  in  peace." 

Klihleborn  seemed  to  become  angry  at  this ; 
his  countenance  assumed  a  frightful  expression, 
and  he  grinned  fiercely  at  Undine,  who  screamed 
aloud  and  called  upon  her  husband  for  assist- 
ance. As  quick  as  lightning,  the  knight  sprang 
to  the  other  side  of  the  horse,  and  aimed  his 
sharp  sword  at  Kuhleborn's  head.  But  the 
sword  cut  through  a  waterfall,  which  was  rush- 
ing down  near  them  from  a  lofty  crag ;  and  with 


THE  KNIGHT  AND  HIS  WIFE.    9 1 


a  splash,  which  almost  sounded  like  a  burst  of 
laughter,  it  poured  over  them  and  wet  them 
through  to  the  skin. 

The  priest,  as  if  suddenly  awaking,  exclaimed : 
**  I  have  long  been  expecting  that,  for  the  stream 
ran  down  from  the  height  so  close  to  us.  At 
first  it  really  seemed  to  me  like  a  man,  and  as  if 
it  could  speak."  As  the  waterfall  came  rushing 
down,  it  distinctly  uttered  these  words  in  Huld- 
brand's  ear :  — 

Rash  knight, 

Brave  knight, 

Rage,  feel  I  not, 

Chide,  will  I  not. 
But  ever  guard  thy  little  wife  as  well, 
Kash  knight,  brave  knight !    Protect  her  well !  '* 

A  few  footsteps  more,  and  they  were  upon  open 
ground.  The  imperial  city  lay  bright  before 
them,  and  the  evening  sun,  which  gilded  its 
towers,  kindly  dried  the  garments  of  the 
drenched  wanderers. 


92 


UXDJXE, 


CHAPTER  X. 

HOW  THEY  LIVED  IN  THE  CITY. 

The  sudden  disappearance  of  the  young 
knight,  Huldbrand  von  Ringstetten.  from  the 
imperial  city,  had  caused  great  sensanon  and 
soHcitude  among  those  who  had  admired  him, 
both  for  his  skill  in  tlie  tournament  and  the 
dance,  and  no  less  so  for  his  gentle  and  agree- 
able manners.  His  servants  would  not  quit  the 
place  without  their  master,  although  not  one  of 
them  would  have  had  the  courage  to  go  in  quest 
of  him  into  the  shadowy  recesses  of  the  forest. 
They  therefore  remained  in  their  quarters,  inac- 
tively hoping,  as  men  are  wont  to  do.  and  keep- 
ing alive  the  remembrance  of  their  lost  lord  by 
their  lamentations.  When,  soon  after,  the  vio- 
lent storms  and  tioods  were  observed,  the  less 
doubt  was  entertained  as  to  the  certain  destruc- 
tion of  the  handsome  stranger ;  and  Bertalda 


HOW  THEY  LIVED. 


93 


Openly  mourned  for  him  and  blamed  herself 
for  having  allured  the  unfortunate  knight  into 
the  forest.  H-er  foster-parents,  the  duke  and 
duchess,  had  come  to  fetch  her  away,  but  Ber- 
talda  entreated  them  to  remain  with  her  until 
certain  intelligence  had  been  obtained  of  Huld- 
brand's  fate.  She  endeavored  to  prevail  upon 
several  young  knights,  who  were  eagerly  court- 
ing her,  to  follow  the  noble  adventurer  to  the 
forest.  But  she  would  not  pledge  her  hand  as 
a  reward  of  the  enterprise,  because  she  always 
cherished  the  hope  of  belonging  to  the  returning 
knight,  and  no  glove,  nor  riband,  nor  even  kiss, 
would  tempt  any  one  to  expose  his  life  for  the 
sake  of  bringing  back  such  a  dangerous  rival. 

When  Huldbrand  now  suddenly  a»nd  unex- 
pectedly appeared,  his  servants,  and  the  inhabit- 
ants of  the  city,  and  almost  every  one,  rejoiced. 
Bertalda  alone  refused  to  do  so  ;  for  agreeable  as 
it  was  to  the  others  that  he  should  bring  with 
him  such  a  beautiful  bride,  and  Father  Heilmann 
as  a  witness  of  the  marriage,  Bertalda  could  feel 
nothing  but  grief  and  vexation.  In  the  first 
place,  she  had  really  loved  the  young  knight 


94 


UNDINE. 


with  all  her  heart,  and  in  the  next,  her  sorrow 
at  his  absence  had  proclaimed  this  far  more 
before  t^e  eyes  of  all,  than  was  now  befitting. 
She  still,  however,  conducted  herself  as  a  wise 
maiden,  reconciled  herself  to  circumstances,  and 
lived  on  the  most  friendly  terms  with  Undine, 
who  was  looked  upon  throughout  the  city  as  a 
princess  whom  Huldbrand  had  rescued  in  the 
forest  from  some  evil  enchantment.  When  she 
or  her  husband  were  questioned  on  the  matter, 
they  were  wise  enough  to  be  silent  or  skilfully  to 
evade  the  inquiries.  Father  Heilmann^s  lips  were 
sealed  to  idle  gossip  of  any  kind,  and  moreover, 
immediately  after  Huldbrand's  arrival,  he  had 
returned  to  his  monastery ;  so  that  people  were 
obliged  to  be  satisfied  with  their  own  strange 
conjectures,  and  even  Bertalda  herself  knew  no 
more  of  the  truth  than  others. 

Day  by  day.  Undine  felt  her  affection  increase 
for  the  fair  maiden.  "We  must  have  known 
each  other  before,""  she  often  used  to  say  to  her, 
"or  else,  there  must  be  some  mysterious  con- 
nection between  us,  for  one  does  not  love  an- 
other as  dearly  as  I  have  loved  you  from  the  first 


HO IV  THEY  LIVED. 


95 


moment  of  our  meeting  without  some  cause  — 
some  deep  and  secret  cause."  And  Bertalda 
also  could  not  deny  the  fact  that  she  felt  drawn 
to  Undine  with  a  tender  feeling  of  confidence, 
however  much  she  might  consider  that  she  had 
cause  for  the  bitterest  lamentation  at  this  success- 
ful rival.  Biassed  by  this  mutual  affection,  they 
both  persuaded  —  the  one  her  foster-parents, 
the  other  her  husband  —  to  postpone  the  day  of 
departure  from  time  to  time  ;  indeed,  it  was  even 
proposed  that  Bertalda  should  accompany  Un- 
dine for  a  time  to  castle  Ringstetten,  near  the 
source  of  the  Danube. 

They  were  talking  over  this  plan  one  beauti- 
ful evening,  as  they  were  walking  by  starlight  in 
the  large  square  of  the  Imperial  city,  under  the 
tall  trees  that  enclose  it.  The  young  married 
pair  had  invited  Bertalda  to  join  them  in  their 
evening  walk,  and  all  three  were  strolling  up  and 
down  under  the  dark-blue  sky,  often  interrupt- 
ing their  familiar  talk  to  admire  the  magnificent 
fountain  in  the  middle  of  the  square,  as  its  waters 
rushed  and  bubbled  forth  with  wonderful  beauty. 
It  hjf>d  a  soothing  happy  influence  upon  them ; 


96 


UNDINE. 


between  the  shadows  of  the  trees  there  stole 
glimmerings  of  light  from  the  adjacent  houses ; 
a  low  murmur  of  children  at  play,  and  of  others 
erioying  their  walk,  floated  around  them ;  they 
were  so  alone,  and  yet  in  the  midst  of  the  bright 
and  living  world ;  whatever  had  appeared  diffi- 
cult by  day,  now  became  smooth  as  of  itself ;  and 
the  three  friends  could  no  longer  understand 
why  the  slightest  lies  ation  had  existed  with 
regard  to  Bertalda^s  visit  t  Ringstetten.  Pres- 
ently, just  as  they  were  on  the  point  of  fixing 
the  day  for  their  common  departure,  a  tall  man 
approached  them  from  the  middle  of  the  square, 
bowed  respectfully  to  the  company,  and  said 
something  in  the  ear  of  the  young  wife.  Dis- 
pleased as  she  was  at  the  interruption  and  its 
cause,  she  stepped  a  little  aside  with  the  stranger, 
and  both  began  to  whisper  together,  as  it  seemed, 
in  a  foreign  tongue.  Huldbrand  fancied  he  knew 
the  strange  man,  and  he  stared  so  fixedly  at  him 
that  he  neither  heard  nor  answered  Bertalda's 
astonished  inquiries. 

All  at  once  Undine,  clapping  her  hands  joy- 
fully, and  laughing,  quitted  the  stranger's  side. 


HOW  THEY  LIVED. 


97 


who,  shaking  his  head,  retired  hastily  and  dis- 
contentedly, and  vanished  in  the  fountain.  Huld- 
brand  now  felt  certain  on  the  point,  but  Bertalda 
asked:  **  And  what  did  the  master  of  the  foun- 
tain want  with  you,  dear  Undine  ? " 

The  young  wife  laughed  within  herself,  and 
replied:  *'The  day  after  to-morrow,  my  dear 
child,  on  the  anniversary  of  your  name-day,  you 
shall  know  it."  And  nothing  more  would  she 
disclose.  She  invited  Bertalda  and  sent  an  invi- 
tation to  her  foster-parents,  to  dine  with  them 
on  the  appointed  day,  and  soon  after  they 
parted. 

Kiihleborn?  was  it  Kuhleborn?''  said  Huld- 
brand,  with  a  secret  shudder,  to  his  beautiful 
bride,  when  they  had  taken  leave  of  Bertalda, 
and  were  now  going  home  through  the  darken- 
ing streets. 

*' Yes,  it  was  he,'' replied  Undine;  *'and  he 
was  going  to  say  all  sorts  of  nonsensical  things 
to  me.  But,  in  the  midst,  quite  contrary  to  his 
intention,  he  delighted  me  with  a  most  welcome 
piece  of  news.  If  you  wish  to  hear  it  at  once, 
my  dear  lord  and  husband,  you  have  but  to  com- 


98 


UNDINE. 


mand,  and  I  will  tell  it  you  without  reserve.  But 
if  you  would  confer  a  real  pleasure  on  your  Un- 
dine, you  will  wait  till  the  day  after  to-morrow, 
and  you  will  then  have  your  share  too  in  the 
surprise." 

The  knight  gladly  complied  with  his  wife's 
desire,  which  had  been  urged  so  sweetly,  and  as 
she  fell  asleep,  she  murmured  smilingly  to  her- 
self: Dear,  dear  Bertalda !  How  she  will 
rejoice  and  be  astonished  at  what  her  master  of 
the  fountain  told  me ! " 


BERTALDA'S  NAME-DAY.  99 


CHAPTER  XI. 

THE  ANNIVERSARY  OF  BERTALDA'S  NAME-DAY. 

The  company  were  sitting  at  dinner;  Ben 
talda,  looking  like  some  goddess  of  spring  witll 
her  flowers  and  jewels,  the  presents  of  her  foster- 
parents  and  friends,  was  placed  between  Undine 
and  Huldbrand .  When  the  rich  repast  was  ended, 
and  the  last  course  had  appeared,  the  doors  were 
left  open,  according  to  a  good  old  German  cus- 
tom, that  the  common  people  might  look  on, 
and  take  part  in  the  festivity  of  the  nobles. 
Servants  were  carrying  round  cake  and  wine 
among  the  spectators.  Huldbrand  and  Ber- 
talda  were  waiting  with  secret  impatience  for  the 
promised  explanation,  and  sat  with  their  eyes 
fixed  steadily  on  Undine.  But  the  beautiful 
wife  still  continued  silent,  and  only  kept  smil- 
ing to  herself  with  secret  and  hearty  satisfaction. 
All  who  knew  of  the  promise  she  had  given, 


could  see  that  she  was  every  moment  on  the 
point  of  betraying  her  happy  secret,  and  that  it 
was  with  a  sort  of  longing  renunciation  that  she 
withheld  it,  just  as  children  sometimes  delay  the 
enjoyment  of  their  choicest  morsels.  Bertalda 
and  Huldbrand  shared  this  delightful  feeling, 
and  expected  with  fearful  hope  the  tidings  which 
were  to  fall  from  the  lips  of  Undine.  Several 
*of  the  company  pressed  Undine  to  sing.  The 
'request  seemed  opportune,  and  ordering  her 
lute  to  be  brought,  she  sang  the  following 
»words :  — 

Bright  opening  day, 

Wild  flowers  so  gay, 

Tall  grasses  their  thirst  that  slake, 

On  the  banks  of  the  billowy  lake ! 

What  glimmers  there  so  shining 
The  reedy  growth  entwining? 
Is  it  a  blossom  white  as  snow 
Fallen  from  heav'n  here  below? 

It  is  an  infant,  frail  and  dear  ! 
With  flowerets  playing  in  its  dreams 
And  grasping  morning's  golden  beams; 
Oh!  whence,  sweet  stranger,  art  thou  here? 


BERTALDA'S  NAME-DAY.  lOI 

Fram  some  far-off  and  unknGwn  strand, 
-   .  .  The  lake  has  born^  thee  to  this  knd. 

Nay,  grasp  not  tender  little  one, 
"With  thy  tiny  hand  outspread; 
No  hand  will  meet  thy  touch  with  love, 
Mute  is  that  flowery  bed. 

The  flowers  can  deck  themselves  so  fair 
And  breathe  forth  fragrance  blest. 
Yet  none  can  press  thee  to  itself. 
Like  that  far-off  mother's  breast. 

So  early  at  the  gate  of  life, 

With  smiles  of  heav'n  on  thy  brow. 

Thou  hast  the  best  of  treasures  lost, 

Poor  wand'ring  child,  nor  know'st  it  now. 

A  noble  duke  comes  riding  by, 

And  near  thee  checks  his  courser's  speed, 

And  full  of  ardent  chivalry 

He  bears  thee  home  upon  his  steed. 

Much,  endless  much,  has  been  thy  gain ! 
Thou  bloom'st  the  fairest  in  the  land ! 
Yet  ah !  the  priceless  joy  of  all, 
Thou'st  left  upon  an  unknown  strand. 

Undine  dropped  her  lute  with  a  melancholy 
smile  ^  and  the  eyes  of  Bertalda's  foster-parents 


I02 


UNDINE. 


were  filled  with  tears.  Yes,  so  it  was  on  the 
morning  that  I  found  you,  my  poor  sweet 
orphan,"  said  the  duke,  deeply  agitated;  **the 
beautiful  singer  is  certainly  right ;  we  have  not 
been  able  to  give  you  that  *  priceless  joy  of 
all/'' 

**  But  we  must  also  hear  how  it  fared  with  the 
poor  parents,"  said  Undine,  as  she  resumed  her 
lute,  and  sang :  — 

Thro'  every  chamber  roams  the  mother, 
Moves  and  searches  everywhere, 
Seeks,  she  scarce  knows  what,  with  sadness, 
And  finds  an  empty  house  is  there. 

An  empty  house !    Oh,  word  of  sorrow, 
To  her  who  once  had  been  so  blest, 
Who  led  her  child  about  by  day 
And  cradled  it  at  night  to  rest. 

The  beech  is  growing  green  again, 
The  sunshine  gilds  its  wonted  spot, 
But  mother,  cease  thy  searching  vain ! 
Thy  little  loved  one  cometh  not. 

And  when  the  breath  of  eve  blows  cool, 

And  father  in  his  home  appears. 

The  smile  he  almost  tries  to  wear 

Is  quenched  at  once  by  gushing  tears. 


BERTALDA'S  NAME-DAY,  \0% 


Full  well  he  knows  that  in  his  home 
He  naught  can  find  but  wild  despair, 
He  hears  the  mother's  grieved  lament 
And  no  bright  infant  greets  him  there. 

**  Oh !  for  God's  sake,  Undine,  where  are  my 
parents?''  cried  the  weeping  Bertalda;  *'you 
surely  know ;  you  have  discovered  them,  you 
wonderful  being,  for  otherwise  you  would  not 
have  thus  torn  my  heart.  Are  they  perhaps 
already  here?  Can  it  be?"  Her  eye  passed 
quickly  over  the  brilliant  company  and  lingered 
on  a  lady  of  high  rank  who  was  sitting  next  her 
foster-father.  Undine,  however,  turned  toward 
the  door,  while  her  eyes  overflowed  with  the 
sweetest  emotion.  **  Where  are  the  poor  wait- 
ing parents?"  she  inquired,  and  the  old  fisher- 
man and  his  wife  advanced  hesitatingly  from  the 
crowd  of  spectators.  Their  glance  rested  in- 
quiringly now  on  Undine,  now  on  the  beautiful 
girl  who  was  said  to  be  their  daughter,  **  It  is 
she,"  said  the  delighted  benefactress,  in  a  falter- 
ing tone,  and  the  two  old  people  hung  round 
the  neck  of  their  recovered  child,  weeping  and 
praising  God. 


\Q4  .         ■  UNDINE:  . : : .  A  :  „ 

But  amazed  and  indignant,  Bertalda  tore  her- 
self from  their  embrace.  Such  a  recognition  was 
too  much  for  this  proud  mind,  at  a  moment  when 
she  had  surely  imagined  that  her  former  splen- 
dor would  even  be  increased,  and  when  hope 
was  deluding  her  with  a  vision  of  almost  royal 
honors,  it  seemed  to  her  as  if  her  rival  had 
devised  all  this  on  purpose  signally  to  humble 
her  before  Huldhrand  and  the  whole  world. 
She  reviled  Undine,  she  reviled  the  old  people,; 
and  bitter  invectives,  such  as  deceiver "  and 
**bribed  impostors,''  fell  from  her  hps.  Then 
the  old  fisherman's  wife  said  in  a  low  voice  to 
herself:  **  Ah  me,  she  is  become  a  wicked  girl ; 
and  yet  1  feel  in  my  heart  that  she  is  nay 
child."  , 

The  old  fisherman,  however,  had  folded  his 
hands,  and  was  praying  silently  that  this  might 
not  be  his  daughter.  Undine,  pale  as  death, 
turned  with  agitation  from  the  parents  to  Ber- 
talda,  and  from  Bertalda  to  the  parents^  sud- 
denly cast  down  from  that  heaven  of  happiness 
of  which  she  had  dreamed,  and  overwhelmed 
with  a  fear  and  a  terror  such  as  she  had  neyer 


BER  TALDA'S  NAME- DA  K       1 0% 


known  even  in  imagination.  **  Have  you  a  scul^ 
Have  you  really  a  soul,  Bertalda?"  she  cried 
again  and  again  to  her  angry  friend,  as  if  forcij- 
bly  to  rouse  her  to  consciousness  from  some  sudr 
den  delirium  or  maddening  nightmare.  But  whe^ 
Bertalda  only  became  more  and  more  enraged^ 
when  the  repulsed  parents  began  to  weep  alouc^, 
and  the  company,  in  eager  dispute,  were  taking 
different  sides,  she  begged  in  such  a  dignified 
and  serious  manner  to  be  allowed  to  speak  in 
this  her  husband's  hall,  that  all  around  were  in 
moment  silenced.  She  then  advanced  to  Ih? 
upper  end  of  the  table,  where  Bertalda  had 
seated  herself,  and  with  a  modest  and  yel 
proud  air,  while  every  eye  was  fixed  upon  he^ 
%he  spoke  as  follows  :  — 

**  My  friends,  you  look  so  angry  and  disturbe:c|f 
and  you  have  interrupted  my  happy  feast  by  yoiju 
disputings.  Ah  !  I  knew  nothing  of  your  foolis}) 
habits  and.  your  heartless  mode  of  thinking,  ancj 
I  shall  never  all  my  life  long  become  accustome|( 
to  them.  It  is  not  my  fault  that  this  affair  has 
resulted  in  evil;  believe  me,  the  fault  is  wU^^ 
yourselves  alone,  little  as  it  may  appear  to  y(H< 


*o6 


UNDINE, 


Icy  be  so.  1  have  therefore  but  little  ta  say  to 
you,  but  one  thing  I  must  say :  I  have  spoken 
nothing  but  truth.  I  neither  can  nor  will  give 
you  proofs  beyond  my  own  assertion,  but  I  will 
swear  to  the  truth  of  this.  I  received  this  infor- 
mation from  the  very  person  who  allured  Ber- 
-lalda  into  the  water,  away  from  her  parents,  and 
who  afterward  placed  her  on  the  green  meadow 
in  the  duke's  path." 

**  She  is  an  enchantress  ! "  cried  Bertalda,  **  a 
j^itch,  who  has  intercourse  with  evil  spirits.  She 
acknowledges  it  herself." 

**  I  do  not,"  said  Undine,  with  a  whole  heaven 
<>f  innocence  and  confidence  beaming  in  her 
eyes.    **  I  am  no  witch  ;  only  look  at  me  ! " 

"She  is  false  and  boastful,"  interrupted  Ber- 
lalda,  **  and  she  cannot  prove  that  I  am  the 
child  of  these  low  people.  My  noble  parents,  I 
'feeg  you  to  take  me  from  this  company  and  out 
of  this  city,  where  they  are  only  bent  on  insult- 
ing me." 

But  the  aged  and  honorable  duke  remained 
finmoved,  and  his  wife  said:  **We  must  thor- 
oughly examine  how  we  are  to  act.    God  forbid 


BERTALDA'S  NAME-DAY,  lO/ 


that  we  should  move  a  step  from  this  hall  until 
we  have  done  so." 

Then  the  old  wife  of  the  fisherman  drew  near, 
and  making  a  low  reverence  to  the  duchess,  she 
said  :  **  Noble,  god-fearing  lady,  you  have  opened 
my  heart.  I  must  tell  you,  if  this  evil-disposed 
young  lady  is  my  daughter,  she  has  a  mark,  like 
a  violet,  between  her  shoulders,  and  another  like 
it  on  the  instep  of  her  left  foot.  If  she  would 
only  go  out  of  the  hall  with  me  !  " 

**  I  shall  not  uncover  myself  before  the  peasant 
woman ! exclaimed  Bertalda,  proudly  turning 
her  back  on  her. 

**  But  before  me  you  will,"  rejoined  the  duchess, 
very  gravely.  Follow  me  into  that  room,  girl, 
and  the  good  old  woman  shall  come  with  us." 
The  three  disappeared,  and  the  rest  of  the  com- 
pany remained  where  they  were,  in  silent  expec- 
tation. After  a  short  time  they  returned ;  Ber- 
talda was  pale  as  death.  *•  Right  is  right,"  said 
the  duchess ;  ''I  must  therefore  declare  that  our 
hostess  has  spoken  perfect  truth.  Bertalda  is 
the  fisherman's  daughter,  and  that  is  as  much  as 
it  is  necessary  to  inform  you  here." 


J  UNDINE. 


]  The  princely  pair  left  with  their  adopted  daugh^ 
ter ;  and  at  a  sign  frona  the  duke,  the  fisherman 
and  his  wife  followed  them.  The  other  guests 
yetired  in  silence  or  with  secret  murmurs,  and 
Undine  sank  weeping  into  Huldbrand's  arms. 


DEPARTURE  FROM ^  THE  CITY,  XO9 


CHAPTER  XII. 

HOW    THEY    DEPARTED    FROM    THE  IMPERIAL 
CITY. 

The  lord  of  Ringstetten  would  have  certainly 
preferred  the  events  of  this  day  to  have  been  dif- 
ferent ;  but  even  as  they  were,  he  could  scarcely 
regret  them  wholly,  as  they  had  exhibited,  his 
charming  wife  under  such  a  good  and  sweet  and 
kindly  aspect.  If  I  have  given  her  a  soul,"  he 
could  not  help  saying  to  himself,  I  have  indeed 
given  her  a  better  one  than  my  own  ;  "  and  his 
only  thought  now  was  to  speak  soothingly  to 
the  weeping  Undine,  and  on  the  following  morn- 
ing to  quit  with  her  a  place  which,  after  this 
incident,  must  have  become  distasteful  to  hen 
It  is  true  that  she  was  not  estimated  differently 
to  what"  she  had  been.  As  something  mysteri- 
ous had  long  been  expected  of  her,  the  strange 
discovery  of  Bertalda's  origin  had  caused  no  great 
surprise and. every  one  who  had  heard  the,  story 


no 


UNDINE, 


and  had  seen  Bertalda's  violent  behavior^  was 
disgusted  with  her  alone.  Of  this,  however,  the 
knight  and  his  lady  knew  nothing  as  yet ;  and, 
besides,  the  condemnation  or  approval  of  the 
public  was  equally  painful  to  Undine,  and  thus 
there  was  no  better  course  to  pursue  than  to 
leave  the  walls  of  the  old  city  behind  them  with 
all  the  speed  possible. 

With  the  earliest  beams  of  morning  a  pretty 
carriage  drove  up  to  the  entrance  gate  for  Un- 
dine; the  horses  which  Huldbrand  and  his 
squires  were  to  ride  stood  near,  pawing  the 
ground  with  impatient  eagerness.  The  knight 
was  leading  his  beautiful  wife  from  the  door, 
when  a  fisher-girl  crossed  their  way.  We  do 
not  need  your  fish,"  said  Huldbrand  to  her, 
**  we  are  now  starting  on  our  journey."  Upon 
this  the  fisher-girl  began  to  weep  bitterly,  and 
the  young  couple  perceived  for  the  first  time  that 
it  was  Bertalda.  They  immediately  returned  with 
her  to  their  apartment,  and  learned  from  her  that 
the  duke  and  duchess  were  so  displeased  at  her 
violent  and  unfeeling  conduct  on  the  preceding 
way,  that  they  had  entirely  withdrawn  their  pro- 


DEPARTURE  FROM  THE  CITY.  Ill 


tcction  from  her,  though  not  without  giving  her 
a  rich  portion. 

The  fisherman,  too,  had  been  handsomely 
rewarded,  and  had  the  evening  before  set  out 
with  his  wife  to  return  to  their  secluded  home. 

*•  I  would  have  gone  with  them/'  she  con- 
tinued, **  but  the  old  fisherman,  who  is  said  to 
be  my  father" — 

**  And  he  is  so  indeed,  Bertalda,"  interrupted 
Undine.  **  Look  here,  the  stranger,  whom  you 
took  for  the  master  of  the  fountain,  told  me  the 
whole  story  in  detail.  He  wished  to  dissuade 
me  from  taking  you  with  me  to  castle  Ringstet- 
ten,  and  this  led  him  to  disclose  the  secret." 

**  Well,  then,"  said  Bertalda,  if  it  must  be 
so,  my  father  said,  *  I  will  not  take  you  with  me 
until  you  are  changed.  Venture  to  come  to  us 
alone  through  the  haunted  forest ;  that  shall  be 
the  proof  whether  you  have  any  regard  for  us. 
But  do  not  come  to  me  as  a  lady ;  come  only  as 
a  fisher-girl ! '  So  I  will  do  just  as  he  has  told 
me,  for  I  am  forsaken  by  the  whole  world,  and 
I  will  live  and  die  in  solitude  as  a  poor  fisher- 
girl,  with  my  poor  parents.    I  have  a  terrible 


-'dread  though  of  the  forest.  Horrible  spectres 
are  said  to  dwell  in  it,  and  I  am  so  fearful.  But 
%ow  can  I  help  it  ?  I  only  canie  here  to  implore 
pardon  of  the  noble  lady  of  Ringstetten  for  my 
unbecoming  behavior  yesterday.  I  feel  sure, 
sweet  lady,  you  meant  to  do  me  a  kindness, 
but  you  knew  not  how  you  would  wound  me, 
and  in  my  agony  and  surprise,  many  a  rash  and 
frantic  expression  passed  my  lips.  Oh  forgive, 
forgive!  I  am  already  so  unhappy.  Only  think 
yourself  what  I  was  yesterday  morning,  yester- 
day at  the  beginning  of  your  banquet,  and  what 
^  I  am  now ! " 

Her  voice  became  stifled  with  a  passionate 
flood  of  tears,  and  Undine,  also  weeping  bit- 
terly, fell  on  her  neck.  It  was  some  time  before 
the  deeply  agitated  Undine  could  utter  a  word ; 
at  length  she  said :  — 

You  can  go  with  us  to  Ringstetten;  every- 
thing shall  remain  as  it  was  arranged  before; 
only  do  not  speak  to  me  again  as  *  noble  lady.' 
You  see,  we  were  exchanged  for  each  other  as 
children ;  our  faces  even  then  sprang  as  it 
were  from  the  same  stem,  and  we  will  now  so 


DEPARTURE  FROM  THE  CITY,  Vl^ 


strengthen  this  kindred  destiny  that  ho  human 
power  shall  be  able  to  separate  it.  Only,  first 
of  all,  come  with  us  to  Ringstetten.  We  will 
'  discuss  there  how  we  shall  share  all  things  as 
sisters." 

Bertalda  looked  timidly  toward '  Huldbrand. 
He  pitied  the  beautiful  girl  in  her  distress,  and 
offering  her  his  hand  he  begged  her  tenderly  to 
intrust  herself  with  him  and  his  wife.  ''We 
will  send  a  message  to  your  parents,"  he  con- 
tinued, "  to  tell  them  why  you  are  not  come  ;  " 
and  he  would  have  added  more  with  regard  to 
^ the  worthy  fisherman  and  his  wife,  but  he  saw 
that  Bertalda  shrunk  with  pain  from  the  mention 
of  their  name,  and  he  therefore  refrained  from 
saying  more. 

He  then  assisted  her  first  into  the  carriage. 
Undine  followed  her ;  and  he  mounted  his  horse 
and  trotted  merrily  by  the  side  of  them,  urging 
the  driver  at  the  same  time  to  hasten  his  speed, 
so  that  very  soon  they  were  beyond  the  confines 
of  the  imperial  city  and  all  its  sad  remembrances  ; 
and  now  the  ladies  began  to  enjoy  the  beautiful 
country  through  which  their  road  lay. 


114 


UNDINE. 


After  a  journey  of  some  days,  they  arrived 
one  exquisite  evening,  at  castle  Ringstetten. 
The  young  knight  had  much  to  hear  from  his 
overseers  and  vassals,  so  that  Undine  and  Ber- 
talda  were  left  alone. 

They  both  repaired  to  the  ramparts  of  the 
fortress,  and  were  delighted  with  the  beautiful 
landscape  which  spread  far  and  wide  through 
fertile  Swabia, 

Presently  a  tall  man  approached  them,  greet- 
ing them  respectfully,  and  Bertalda  fancied  she 
saw  a  resemblance  to  the  master  of  the  fountain 
in  the  imperial  city.  Still  more  unmistakable 
grew  the  likeness,  when  Undine  angrily  and 
almost  threateningly  waved  him  off,  and  he  re- 
treated with  hasty  steps  and  shaking  head,  as 
he  had  done  before,  and  disappeared  into  a 
neighboring  copse.  Undine,  however,  said : 
**  DonH  be  afraid,  dear  Bertalda,  this  time  the 
hateful  master  of  the  fountain  shall  do  you  no 
harm."  And  then  she  told  her  the  whole  story 
in  detail,  and  who  she  was  herself,  and  how 
Bertalda  had  been  taken  away  from  the  fisher- 
man and  his  wife,  and  Undine  had  gone  to  them. 


DEPARTURE  FROM  THE  CITY,  IIS 


The  girl  was  at  first  terrified  with  this  relation ; 
she  imagined  her  friend  must  be  seized  with 
sudden  madness,  but  she  became  more  con- 
vinced that  all  was  true,  for  Undine's  story  was 
so  connected,  and  fitted  so  well  with  former 
occurrences,  and  still  more  she  had  that  inward 
feeling  with  which  truth  never  fails  to  make 
itself  known  to  us.  It  seemed  strange  to  her 
that  she  was  now  herself  living,  as  it  were,  in  the 
midst  of  one  of  those  fairy  tales  to  which  she 
had  formerly  only  listened. 

She  gazed  upon  Undine  with  reverence,  but, 
she  could  not  resist  a  sense  of  dread  that  seemed 
to  come  between  her  and  her  friend,  and  at  their 
evening  repast  she  could  not  but  wonder  how 
the  knight  could  behave  so  lovingly  and  kindly 
toward  a  being  who  appeared  to  her,  since  the 
discovery  she  had  just  made,  more  of  a  phantom 
than  a  human  being. 


Ii6 


UNDINE. 


CHAPTER  XIII. 

HOW  THEY  LIVED  AT  CASTLE  RINGSTETTEN. 

The  writer  of  this  story,  both  because  it 
moves  his  own  heart,  and  because  he  wishes  it 
to  move  that  of  others,  begs  you,  dear  reader^ 
to  pardon  him,  if  he  now  briefly  passes  over  a 
considerable  space  of  time,  only  cursorily  men- 
tioning the  events  that  marked  it.  He  knows 
well  that  he  might  portray  skilfully,  step  by 
step,  how  Huldbrand's  heart  began  to  turn  from 
Undine  to  Bertalda ;  how  Bertalda  more  and 
more  responded  with  ardent  affection  to  the 
young  knight,  and  how  they  both  looked  upon 
the  poor  wife  as  a  mysterious  being  rather  to  be 
feared  than  pitied ;  how  Undine  wept,  and  how 
her  tears  stung  the  knight's  heart  with  remorse 
without  awakening  his  former  love,  so  that 
though  he  at  times  was  kind  and  endearing  to 
her,  a  cold  shudder  would  soon  draw  him  from 


AT  CASTLE  RINGSTETTEN.  11/ 


her,  and  he  would  turn  to  his  fellow-mortal, 
Bertalda.  All  this  the  writer  knows  might  be 
fully  detailed,  and  perhaps  ought  to  have  been 
so  ;  but  such  a  task  would  have  been  too  pain- 
ful, for  similar  things  have  been  known  to  him 
by  sad  experience,  and  he  shrinks  from  their 
shadow  even  in  remembrance.  You  know  prob- 
ably a  like  feeling,  dear  reader,  for  such  is  the 
lot  of  mortal  man.  Happy  are  you  if  you  have 
received  rather  than  inflicted  the  pain,  for  in 
such  things  it  is  more  blessed  to  receive  than  to 
give.  If  it  be  so,  such  recollections  will  only 
bring  a  feeling  of  sorrow  to  your  mind,  and  per- 
haps a  tear  will  trickle  down  your  cheek  over 
the  faded  flowers  that  once  caused  you  such 
delight.  But  let  that  be  enough.  We  will  not 
pierce  our  hearts  with  a  thousand  separate 
things,  but  only  briefly  state,  as  I  have  just  said, 
how  matters  were. 

Poor  Undine  was  very  sad,  and  the  other  two 
were  not  to  be  called  happy.  Bertalda  espe- 
cially thought  that  she  could  trace  the  effect  of 
jealousy  on  the  part  of  the  injured  wife  when- 
ever her  wishes  were  in  any  way  thwarted  by 


Ii8 


UNDINE, 


her.  She  had  therefore  habituated  herself  to 
an  imperious  demeanor,  to  which  Undine  yielded 
in  sorrowful  submission,  and  the  now  blinded 
Huldbrand  usually  encouraged  this  arrogant 
behavior  in  the  strongest  manner.  But  the  cir- 
cumstance that  most  of  all  disturbed  the  in- 
mates of  the  castle,  was  a  variety  of  w^onderful 
apparitions  which  met  Huldbrand  and  Bertalda 
in  the  vaulted  galleries  of  the  castle,  and  which 
had  never  been  heard  of  before  as  haunting  the 
locality.  The  tall  white  man,  in  whom  Huld- 
brand recognized  only  too  plainly  Uncle  Kuhle- 
born,  and  Bertalda  the  spectral  master  of  the 
fountain,  often  passed  before  them  with  a  threat- 
ening aspect,  and  especially  before  Bertalda  ;  so 
much  so,  that  she  had  already  several  times 
been  made  ill  with  terror,  and  had  frequently 
thought  of  quitting  the  castle.  But  still  she 
stayed  there,  partly  because  Huldbrand  was  so 
dear  to  her,  and  she  relied  on  her  innocence, 
no  words  of  love  having  ever  passed  between 
them,  and  partly  also  because  she  knew  not 
whither  to  direct  her  steps.  The  old  fisherman, 
on   receiving  the  message  from  the  lord  of 


AT  CASTLE  RINGSTETTEN.  HQ 


Ringstetten  that  Bertalda  was  his  guest,  had 
written  a  few  lines  in  an  almost  illegible  hand, 
but  as  good  as  his  advanced  age  and  long  dis- 
would  admit  of. 

''I  have  now  become,"  he  wrote,  *'a  poor 
old  widower,  for  my  dear  and  faithful  wife  is 
dead.  However  lonely  I  now  sit  in  my  cottage, 
Bertalda  is  better  with  you  than  with  me.  Only 
let  her  do  nothing  to  harm  my  beloved  Undine ! 
She  will  have  my  curse  if  it  be  so."  The  last 
words  of  this  letter,  Bertalda  flung  to  the  winds, 
but  she  carefully  retained  the  part  respecting 
her  absence  from  her  father — just  as  we  are  all 
wont  to  do  in  similar  circumstances. 

One  day,  when  Huldbrand  had  just  ridden 
out.  Undine  summoned  together  the  domestics 
of  the  family,  and  ordered  them  to  bring  a  large 
stone,  and  carefully  to  cover  with  it  the  magnifi- 
cent fountain  which  stood  in  the  middle  of  the 
castle-yard.  The  servants  objected  that  it  would 
oblige  them  to  bring  water  from  the  valley  be- 
low. Undine  smiled  sadly.  I  am  sorry,  my 
people,"  she  replied,  to  increase  your  work. 
I  would  rather  myself  fetch  up  the  pitchers,  but 


I20 


LWDIXE. 


this  fountain  must  be  closed.  Believe  me  that 
it  cannot  be  otherwise,  and  that  it  is  only  by  so 
doing  that  we  can  avoid  a  greater  evil." 

The  whole  household  were  glad  to  be  able  to 
please  their  gentle  mistress  ;  they  made  no  fur- 
ther inquiry,  but  seized  the  enormous  stone. 
They  vrere  just  raising  it  in  their  hands,  and 
were  already  poising  it  over  the  fountain,  when 
Bertalda  came  running  up,  and  called  out  to 
them  to  stop,  as  it  was  from  this  fountain  that 
the  water  was  brought  which  was  so  good  for 
her  complexion,  and  she  would  never  consent 
to  its  being  closed.  Undine,  however,  although 
gentle  as  usual,  was  more  than  usually  lirm. 
She  told  Bertalda  that  it  was  her  due,  as  mis- 
tress of  the  house,  to  arrange  her  household  as 
she  thought  best,  and  that,  in  this,  she  was 
accountable  to  no  one  but  her  lord  and  husband. 

See,  oh,  pray  see,''  exclaimed  Bertalda,  in  an 
angry,  yet  uneasy  tone,  "  how^  the  poor  beauti- 
ful water  is  curling  and  writhing  at  being  shut 
out  from  the  bright  sunshine  and  from  the 
cheerful  sight  of  the  human  face,  for  whose 
mirror  it  was  created  !  " 


AT  CASTLE  RINGSTETTEN,  121 

The  water  in  the  fountain  was  indeed  wonder- 
fully agitated  and  hissing ;  it  seemed  as  if  some- 
thing within  were  struggling  to  free  itself,  but 
Undine  only  the  more  earnestly  urged  the  ful- 
filment of  her  orders.  The  earnestness  was 
scarcely  needed.  The  servants  of  the  castle 
were  as  happy  in  obeying  their  gentle  mistress 
as  in  opposing  Bertalda's  haughty  defiance ; 
and  in  spite  of  all  the  rude  scolding  and  threat- 
ening of  the  latter  the  stone  was  soon  firmly 
lying  over  the  opening  of  the  fountain.  Undine 
leaned  thoughtfully  over  it,  and  wrote  with  her 
beautiful  fingers  on  its  surface.  She  must,  how- 
ever, have  had  something  very  sharp  and  cutting 
in  her  hand,  for  when  she  turned  away,  and  the 
servants  drew  near  to  examine  the  stone,  they 
perceived  various  strange  characters  upon  it, 
which  none  of  them  had  seen  there  before. 

Bertalda  received  the  knight,  on  his  return 
home  in  the  evening,  with  tears  and  complaints 
of  Undine's  conduct.  He  cast  a  serious  look  at 
his  poor  wife,  and  she  looked  down  as  if  dis- 
tressed. Yet  she  said  with  great  composure: 
•*  My  lord  and  husband  does  not  reprove  eveft 


122 


UNDINE. 


a  bondslave  without  a  hearing,  how  much  less, 
"then,  his  wedded  wife?  " 

*'  Speak,"  said  the  knight  with  a  gloomy 
'countenance,  *'  what  induced  you  to  act  so 
strangely  ?" 

**  I  should  like  to  tell  you  when  we  are  quite 
alone,"  sighed  Undine. 

*'You  can  tell  me  just  as  well  in  Bertalda's 
presence,"  was  the  rejoinder. 

**  Yes,  if  you  command  me,"  said  Undine; 

but  command  it  not.  Oh  pray,  pray  com- 
tnand  it  not ! " 

She  looked  so  humble,  so  sweet,  and  obedient, 
-that  the  knight's  heart  felt  a  passing  gleam  from 
■better  times.  He  kindly  placed  her  arm  within 
iais  own,  and  led  her  to  his  apartment,  when  she 
began  to  speak  as  follows  :  — 

You  already  know,  my  beloved  lord,  some- 
thing of  my  evil  uncle,  Kiihleborn,  and  you  have 
frequently  been  displeased  at  meeting  him  in 
the  galleries  of  this  castle.  He  has  several  times 
frightened  Bertalda  into  illness.  This  is  because 
he  is  devoid  of  soul,  a  mere  elemental  mirror  of 
the  outward  world,  without  the  power  of  reflect- 


AT  CASTLE  RINGSTETTEN, 


123 


ing  the  world  within.  He  sees,  too,  sometimes, 
that  you  are  dissatisfied  with  me ;  that  I,  in  my 
childishness,  am  weeping  at  this,  and  that  Ber- 
talda  perhaps  is  at  the  very  same  moment  laugh- 
ing. Hence  he  imagines  various  discrepancies 
in  our  home  life,  and  in  many  ways  mixes  unbid- 
den with  our  circle.  What  is  the  good  of  re- 
proving him?  What  is  the  use  of  sending  him 
angrily  away?  He  does  not  believe  a  word  I 
say.  His  poor  nature  has  no  idea  that  the  joys 
and  sorrows  of  love  have  so  sweet  a  resemblance, 
and  are  so  closely  linked  that  no  power  can  sepa- 
rate them.  Amid  tears  a  smile  shines  forth, 
and  a  smile  allures  tears  from  their  secret 
chambers." 

She  looked  up  at  Huldbrand,  smiling  and 
weeping;  and  he  again  experienced  within  his 
heart  all  the  charm  of  his  old  love.  She  felt 
this,  and  pressing  him  more  tenderly  to  her,  she 
continued  amid  tears  of  joy  :  — 

As  the  disturber  of  our  peace  was  not  to  be 
dismissed  with  words,  I  have  been  obliged  to 
shut  the  door  upon  him.  And  the  only  door  by 
which  he  obtains  access  to  us  is  that  fountain. 


124 


UNDINE. 


He  is  cut  off  by  the  adjacent  valleys  from  the 
other  water-spirits  in  the  neighborhood,  and  his 
kingdom  onJy  commences  further  off  on  the 
Danube,  into  which  some  of  his  good  friends 
direct  their  course.  For  this  reason  I  had  the 
stone  placed  over  the  opening  of  the  fountain, 
and  I  inscribed  characters  upon  it  which  cripple 
all  mylmcT?s  power,  so  that  he  can  now  neither 
intrude  up"on  you,  nor  upon  me,  nor  upon  Ber- 
talda.  Human  beings,  it  is  true,  can  raise  the 
stone  again  with  ordinary  effort,  in  spite  of  the 
characters  inscribed  on  it.  The  inscription 
does  not  hinder  them.  If  you  wish,  therefore, 
follow  Bertalda^s  desire,  but,  truly !  she  knows 
not  what  she  asks.  The  rude  Kuhleborn  has 
set  his  mark  especially  upon  her ;  and  if  much 
came  to  pass  which  he  has  predicted  to  me,  and 
which  might,  indeed,  happen  without  your  mean- 
ing any  evil,  ah !  dear  one,  even  you  would 
then  be  exposed  to  danger  ! 

Huldbrand  felt  deeply  the  generosity  of  his 
sweet  wife,  in  her  eagerness  to  shut  up  her  for- 
midable protector,  while  she  had  even  been 
chided  for  it  by  Bertalda.    He  pressed  her  in 


AT  CASTLE  RINGSTETTEN,  12$ 


his  arms  with  the  utmost  affection,  and  said 
with  emotion:  **The  stone  shall  remain,  and 
all  shall  remain,  now  and  ever,  as  you  wish  to 
have  it,  my  sweet  Undine." 

She  caressed  him  with  humble  delight,  as  she 
heard  the  expressions  of  love  so  long  withheld, 
and  then  at  length  she  said  :  My  dearest  hus- 
band, you  are  so  gentle  and  kind  to-day,  may  I 
venture  to  ask  a  favor  of  you?  See  now,  it  is 
just  the  same  with  you  as  it  is  with  summer.  In 
the  height  of  its  glory,  summer  puts  on  the 
flaming  and  thundering  crown  of  mighty  storms, 
and  assumes  the  air  of  a  king  over  the  earth. 
You,  too,  sometimes,  let  your  fury  rise,  and 
your  eyes  flash  and  your  voice  is  angry,  and  this 
becomes  you  well,  though  I,  in  my  folly,  may 
sometimes  weep  at  it.  But  never,  I  pray  you, 
behave  thus  toward  me  on  the  water,  or  even 
when  we  are  near  it.  You  see,  my  relatives 
would  then  acquire  a  right  over  me..  They 
would  unrelentingly  tear  me  from  you  in  their 
rage;  because  they  would  imagine  that  one  of 
their  race  was  injured,  and  I  should  be  com- 
pelled all  my  life  to  dwell  below  in  the  crystal 


126 


UNDINE. 


palaces,  and  should  never  dare  to  ascend  to  you 
again ;  or  they  would  send  me  up  to  you  —  and 
that,  oh  God,  would  be  infinitely  worse.  No, 
no,  my  beloved  husband,  do  not  let  it  come  to 
that,  if  your  poor  Undine  is  dear  to  you." 

He  promised  solemnly  to  do  as  she  desired, 
and  they  both  returned  from  the  apartment,  full 
of  happiness  and  affection.  At  that  moment 
Bertalda  appeared  with  some  workmen,  to  whom 
she  had  already  given  orders,  and  said  in  a  sul- 
len tone,  which  she  had  assumed  of  late:  *' I 
suppose  the  secret  conference  is  at  an  end,  and 
now  the  stone  may  be  removed.  Go  out,  work- 
men, and  attend  to  it." 

But  the  knight,  angry  at  her  impertinence, 
desired  in  short  and  very  decisive  words  that 
the  stone  should  be  left ;  he  reproved  Bertalda, 
too,  for  her  violence  toward  his  wife.  Where- 
upon the  workmen  withdrew,  smiling  with  secret 
satisfaction ;  while  Bertalda,  pale  with  rage, 
hurried  away  to  her  room. 

The  hour  for  the  evening  repast  arrived,  and 
Bertalda  was  waited  for  in  vain.  They  sent 
after  her,  but  the  domestic  found  her  apart- 


AT  CASTLE  RINGSTETTEN,  12/ 


ments  empty,  and  only  brought  back  with  him 
a  sealed  letter  addressed  to  the  knight.  He 
opened  it  with  alarm,  and  read:  '*  I  feel  with 
shame  that  I  am  only  a  poor  fisher-girl.  I  will 
expiate  my  fault  in  having  forgotten  this  for  a 
moment  by  going  to  the  miserable  cottage  of 
my  parents.  Farewell  to  you  and  your  beautiful 
wife." 

Undine  was  heartily  distressed.  She  earnestly 
entreated  Huldbrand  to  hasten  after  their  friend 
and  bring  her  back  again.  Alas  !  she  had  no 
need  to  urge  him.  His  aiTection  for  Bertalda 
burst  forth  again  with  vehemence.  He  hurried 
round  the  castle,  inquiring  if  any  one  had  seen 
which  way  the  fugitive  had  gone.  He  could 
learn  nothing  of  her,  and  he  was  already  on  his 
horse  in  the  castle-yard,  resolved  at  a  venture 
to  take  the  road  by  which  he  had  brought  Ber- 
talda hither.  Just  then  a  page  appeared,  who 
assured  him  that  he  had  met  the  lady' on  the 
path  to  the  Black  Valley.  Like  an  arrow  the 
knight  sprang  through  the  gateway  in  the  direc- 
tion indicated,  without  hearing  Undine^s  voice 
of  agony^  as  she  called  to  him  from  the  win- 
dow :  — 


128 


UNDINE. 


**To  the  Black  Valley!  Oh,  not  there! 
Huldbrand,  don^t  go  there  !  or,  for  heaven's 
sake,  take  me  with  you !  "  But  when  she  per- 
ceived that  all  her  calling  was  in  vain,  she 
ordered  her  white  palfrey  to  be  immediately 
saddled,  and  rode  after  the  knight,  without 
allowing  any  servant  to  accompany  her. 


BERTALDA  AND  THE  KNIGHT.    1 29 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

HOW  BERTALDA  RETURNED  HOME  WITH  THE 
KNIGHT. 

The  Black  Valley  lies  deep  within  the  moun- 
tains. What  it  is  now  called  we  do  not  know. 
At  that  time  the  people  of  the  country  gave  it 
this  appellation  on  account  of  the  deep  obscurity 
in  which  the  low  land  lay,  owing  to  the  shadows 
of  the  lofty  trees,  and  especially  firs,  that  grew 
there.  Even  the  brook  which  bubbled  between 
the  rocks  wore  the  same  dark  hue,  and  dashed 
along  with  none  of  that  gladness  with  which 
streams  are  wont  to  flow  that  have  the  blue  sky 
immediately  above  them.  Now,  in  the  growing 
twilight  of  evening,  it  looked  wild  and  gloomy 
between  the  heights.  The  knight  trotted  anx- 
iously along  the  edge  of  the  brook,  fearful  at 
one  moment  that  by  delay  he  might  allow  the 
fugitive  to  advance  too  far,  and  at  the  next  that 
by  too  great  rapidity  he  might  overlook  her  in 


I30 


UNDINE. 


case  she  were  concealing  herself  from  him. 
Meanwhile  he  had  already  penetrated  tolerably 
far  into  the  valley,  and  might  soon  hope  to  over- 
take the  maiden,  if  he  were  on  the  right  track. 
The  fear  that  this  might  not  be  the  case  made 
his  heart  beat  with  anxiety.  Where  would  the 
tender  Bertalda  tarry  through  the  stormy  night, 
which  was  so  fearful  in  the  valley,  should  he  fail 
to  find  her?  At  length  he  saw  something  white 
gleaming  through  the  branches  on  the  slope  of 
the  mountain.  He  thought  he  recognized  Ber- 
talda's  dress,  and  he  turned  his  course  in  that 
direction.  But  his  horse  refused  to  go  forward ; 
it  reared  impatiently ;  and  its  master,  unwilling 
to  lose  a  moment,  and  seeing  moreover  that  the 
copse  was  impassable  on  horseback,  dismounted ; 
and,  fastening  his  snorting  steed  to  an  elm- 
tree,  he  worked  his  way  cautiously  through  the 
bushes.  The  branches  sprinkled  his  forehead 
and  cheeks  with  the  cold  drops  of  the  evening 
dew ;  a  distant  roll  of  thunder  was  heard  mur- 
muring from  the  other  side  of  the  mountains ; 
\  everything  looked  so  strange  that  he  began  to 
feel  a  dread  of  the  white  figure,  which  now  lay 


BERTALDA  AND  THE  KNIGHT,  I3I 


only  a  short  distance  from  him  on  the  ground. 
Still  he  could  plainly  see  that  it  was  a  female, 
either  asleep  or  in  a  swoon,  and  that  she  was 
attired  in  long  white  garments,  such  as  Bertalda 
had  worn  on  that  day.  He  stepped  close  up  to 
her,  made  a  rustling  with  the  branches,  and  let 
his  sword  clatter,  but  she  moved  not.  **  Ber- 
talda!" he  exclaimed,  at  first  in  a  low  voice,  and 
then  louder  and  louder  —  still  she  heard  not. 
At  last,  when  he  uttered  the  dear  name  with  a 
more  powerful  effort,  a  hollow  echo  from  the 
mountain-caverns  of  the  valley  indistinctly  re- 
verberated *' Bertalda!"  but  still  the  sleeper 
woke  not.  He  bent  down  over  her ;  the  gloom 
of  the  valley  and  the  obscurity  of  approaching 
night  would  not  allow  him  to  distinguish  her 
features. 

Just  as  he  was  stooping  closer  over  her,  with 
a  feeling  of  painful  doubt,  a  flash  of  lightning 
shot  across  the  valley,  and  he  saw  before  him 
a  frightfully  distorted  countenance,  and  a  hol- 
low voice  exclaimed:  **  Give  me  a  kiss,  you 
enamoured  swain ! " 

Huldbrand  sprang  up  with  a  cry  of  horror^ 


132 


UNDINE, 


and  the  hideous  figure  rose  with  him.  *'Go 
home!"  it  murmured;  wizards  are  on  the 
watch.  Go  home !  or  I  will  have  you  !  *'  and  it 
stretched  out  its  long  white  arms  toward  him. 

*' Malicious  Kiihleborn ! "  cried  the  knight, 
recovering  himself,  "  What  do  you  concern  me, 
you  goblin?  There,  take  your  kiss  !  "  And  he 
furiously  hurled  his  sword  at  the  figure.  But  it 
vanished  like  vapor,  and  a  gush  of  water  which 
wetted  him  through  left  the  knight  no  doubt  as 
to  the  foe  with  whom  he  had  been  engaged. 

**  He  wishes  to  frighten  me  back  from  Ber- 
talda,"  said  he  aloud  to  himself;  he  thinks  to 
terrify  me  with  his  foolish  tricks,  and  to  make 
me  give  up  the  poor  distressed  girl  to  him,  so 
that  he  can  wreak  his  vengeance  on  her.  But 
he  shall  not  do  that,  weak  spirit  of  the«elements 
as  he  is.  No jiOwc^rles^_phantom  jcan  under- 
stand what  a  hurnan  heart  can  do  when  its  be^ 
energies  are  aroused."  He  felt  the  truth  of  his 
words,  and  that  the  very  expression  of  them  had 
inspired  his  heart  with  fresh  courage.  It  seemed 
too  as  if  fortune  were  on  his  side,  for  he  had 
not  reached  his  fastened  horse,  when  he  dis- 


BERTALDA  AND  THE  KNIGHT,     1 33 


tinctly  heard  Bertalda's  plaintive  voice  not  far 
distant,  and  could  catch  her  weeping  accents 
through  the  ever-increasing  tumult  of  the  thun- 
der and  tempest.  He  hurried  swiftly  in  the 
direction  of  the  sound,  and  found  the  trembling 
girl  just  attempting  to  climb  the  steep,  in  order 
to  escape  in  any  way  from  the  dreadful  gloom  of 
the  valley.  He  stepped,  however,  lovingly  in 
her  path,  and  bold  and  proud  as  her  resolve 
had  before  been,  she  now  felt  only  too  keenly 
the  delight,  that  the  friend  whom  she  so  pas- 
sionately loved  should  rescue  her  from  this 
frightful  solitude,  and  that  the  joyous  life  in  the 
castle  should  be  again  open  to  her.  She  fol- 
lowed almost  unresisting,  but  so  exhausted  with 
fatigue  that  the  knight  was  glad  to  have  brought 
her  to  his  horse,  which  he  now  hastily  unfas- 
tened, in  order  to  lift  the  fair  fugitive  upon  it ; 
and  then,  cautiously  holding  the  reins,  he  hoped 
to  proceed  tlirough  the  uncertain  shades  of  the 
valley. 

But  the  horse  had  become  quite  unmanageable 
from  the  wild  apparition  of  Kuhleborn.  Even 
the  knight  would  have  had  difficulty  in  mounting 


134 


UNDINE, 


the  rearing  and  snorting  animal,  but  to  place  the 
trembling  Bertalda  on  its  back  was  perfectly  im- 
possible. They  determined,  therefore,  to  return 
home  on  foot.  Drawing  the  horse  after  him  by 
the  bridle,  the  knight  supported  the  tottering 
girl  with  his  other  hand.  Bertalda  exerted  all 
her  strength  to  pass  quickly  through  the  fearful 
valley,  but  weariness  weighed  her  down  like  lead, 
and  every  limb  trembled,  partly  from  the  terror 
she  had  endured  when  Kuhleborn  had  pursued 
her,  and  partly  from  her  continued  alarm  at  the 
howling  of  the  storm  and  the  pealing  of  the  thun- 
der through  the  wooded  mountain. 

At  last  she  slid  from  the  supporting  arm  of  her 
protector,  and  sinking  down  on  the  moss,  she 
exclaimed  :  Let  me  lie  here,  my  noble  lord  ;  I 
suffer  the  punishment  due  to  my  folly,  and  I  must 
now  perish  here  through  weariness  and  dread." 

*'No,  sweet  friend,  I  will  never  leave  you!'* 
cried  Huldbrand,  vainly  endeavoring  to  restrain 
his  furious  steed ;  for,  worse  than  before,  it  now 
began  to  foam  and  rear  with  excitement,  until  at 
last  the  knight  was  glad  to  keep  the  animal  at  a 
sufficient  distance  from  the  exhausted  maiden^ 


BERTALDA  AND  THE  KNIGHT.     1 35 


lest  her  fears  should  be  increased.  But  scarcely 
had  he  withdrawn  a  few  paces  with  the  wild 
steed,  than  she  began  to  call  after  him  in  the 
most  pitiful  manner,  believing  that  he  was  really 
going  to  leave  her  in  this  horrible  wilderness. 
He  was  utterly  at  a  loss  what  course  to  take- 
Gladly  would  he  have  given  the  excited  beast  its 
liberty  and  have  allowed  it  to  rush  away  into  the 
night  and  spend  its  fury,  had  he  not  feared  that 
in  this  narrow  defile  it  might  come  thundering 
with  its  iron-shod  hoofs  over  the  very  spot  where 
Bertalda  lay. 

In  the  midst  of  this  extreme  perplexity  and  dis- 
tress, he  heard  with  delight  the  sound  of  a  vehi- 
cle driving  slowly  down  the  stony  road  behind 
them.  He  called  out  for  help;  and  a  man^s 
voice  replied,  bidding  him  have  patience,  but 
promising  assistance  ;  and  soon  after,  two  gray 
horses  appeared  through  the  bushes,  and  beside 
them  the  driver  in  the  white  smock  of  a  carter ; 
a  great  white  linen  cloth  was  next  visible,  cover- 
ing the  goods  apparently  contained  in  the  wagon. 
At  a  loud  shout  from  their  master,  the  obedient 
horses  halted.    The  driver  then  came  toward 


136 


UNDINE, 


the  knight,  and  helped  him  in  restraining  his 
foaming  animal. 

**  I  see  well,"  said  he,  **what  ails  the  beast. 
When  I  first  travelled  this  way,  my  horses  were 
no  better.  The  fact  is,  there  is  an  evil  water- 
spirit  haunting  the  place,  and  he  takes  delight 
in  this  sort  of  mischief.  But  I  have  learned  a 
charm ;  if  you  will  let  me  whisper  it  in  your 
horse's  ear,  he  will  stand  at  once  just  as  quiet  as 
my  gray  beasts  are  doing  there." 

**'Try  your  luck  then,  only  help  us  quickly!" 
exclaimed  the  impatient  knight.  The  wagoner 
then  drew  down  the  head  of  the  rearing  charger 
close  to  his  own,  and  whispered  something  in 
his  ear.  In  a  moment  the  animal  stood  still 
and  quiet,  and  his  quick  panting  and  reeking 
condition  was  all  that  remained  of  his  previous 
unmanageableness.  Huldbrand  had  no  time  to 
inquire  how  all  this  had  been  effected.  He 
agreed  with  the  carter  that  he  should  take  Ber- 
talda  on  his  wagon,  where,  as  the  man  assured 
him,  there  were  a  quantity  of  soft  cotton-bales, 
upon  which  she  could  be  conveyed  to  castle 
Ringstetten,  and  the  knight  was  to  accompany 


BERTALDA  AND  THE  KNIGHT,    1 3/ 


them  on  horseback.  But  the  horse  appeared  too 
much  exhausted  by  its  past  fury  to  be  able  to 
carry  its  master  so  far,  so  the  carter  persuaded 
Huldbrand  to  get  into  the  wagon  with  Bertalda. 
The  horse  could  be  fastened  on  behind.  "We 
are  going  down  hill,"  said  he,  *'and  that  will 
make  it  light  for  my  gray  beasts.''' 

The  knight  accepted  the  offer  and  entered  the 
wagon  with  Bertalda  ;  the  horse  followed  patiently 
behind,  and  the  wagoner,  steady  and  attentive, 
walked  by  the  side. 

In  the  stillness  of  the  night,  as  its  darkness 
deepened  and  the  subsiding  tempest  sounded 
more  and  more  remote,  encouraged  by  the 
sense  of  security  and  their  fortunate  escape,  a 
confidential  conversation  arose  between  Huld* 
brand  and  Bertalda.  With  flattering  words  he 
reproached  her  for  her  daring  flight;  she  ex- 
cused herself  with  humility  and  emotion,  and 
from  every  word  she  said  a  gleam  shone  forth 
which  disclosed  distinctly  to  the  lover  that  the  be- 
loved was  his.  The  knight  felt  the  sense  of  her 
words  far  more  than  he  regarded  their  meaning, 
and  it  was  the  sense  alone  to  which  he  replied. 


138 


UNDINE, 


Presently  the  wagoner  suddenly  shouted  with  a 
toud  voice,  — 

Up,  my  grays,  up  with  your  feet,  keep 
together  !  remember  who  you  are  !  " 

The  knight  leaned  out  of  the  wagon  and  saw 
ihat  the  horses  were  stepping  into  the  midst  of  a 
foaming  stream  or  were  already  almost  swimming, 
while  the  wheels  of  the  wagon  were  rushing  round 
^nd  gleaming  like  mill-wheels,  and  the  wagoner 
had  got  up  in  front,  in  consequence  of  the  increas- 
ing waters. 

*'What  sort  of  a  road  is  this?  It  goes  into 
the  middle  of  the  stream,"  cried  Huldbrand  to 
his  guide. 

Not  at  all,  sir,"  returned  the  other,  laughing, 

it  is  just  the  reverse,  the  stream  goes  into  the 
very  middle  of  our  road.  Look  round  and  see 
how  everything  is  covered  by  the  watei." 

The  whale  valley  indeed  was  suddenly  filled 
with  the  surging  flood,  that  visibly  increased. 

It  is  Kuhleborn,  the  evil  water-spirit,  who 
wishes  to  drown  us ! "  exclaimed  the  knight. 
^*  Have  you  no  charm  against  him,  my  friend  ?" 

*'  I  know  indeed  of  one,"  returned  the  wag- 


BERTALDA  AND  THE  KNIGHT.     1 39 

oner,  but  I  cannot  and  may  not  use  it  until  you 
know  who  I  am." 

Is  this  a  time  for  riddles  ?  "  cried  the  knight. 
**  The  flood  is  ever  rising  higher,  and  what  does 
it  matter  to  me  to  know  who  you  are  ?  " 

It  does  matter  to  you,  though,"  said  the 
wagoner,  *'for  I  am  Klihleborn." 

So  saying,  he  thrust  his  distorted  face  into 
the  wagon  with  a  grin,  but  the  wagon  was  a 
wagon  no  longer,  the  horses  were  not  horses  — 
all  was  transformed  to  foam  and  vanished  in  the 
hissing  waves,  and  even  the  wagoner  himself, 
rising  as  a  gigantic  billow,  drew  down  the  vainly 
struggling  horse  beneath  the  waters,  and  then 
swelling  higher  and  higher,  swept  over  the  heads 
of  the  floating  pair,  like  some  liquid  tower,  threat- 
ening to  bury  them  irrecoverably. 

Just  then  the  soft  voice  of  Undine  sounded 
through  the  uproar,  the  moon  emerged  from  the 
clouds,  and  by  its  light  Undine  was  seen  on  the 
heights  above  the  valley.  She  rebuked,  she 
threatened  the  floods  below ;  the  menacing, 
tower-like  wave  vanished,  muttering  and  mur- 
muring, the  waters  flowed  gently  away  in  the 


I40 


UNDINE, 


moonlight,  and  like  a  white  dove,  Undine  flew 
down  from  the  height,  seized  the  knight  and 
Bertalda,  and  bore  them  with  her  to  a  fresh, 
green,  turfy  spot  on  the  hill,  where  with  choice 
refreshing  restoratives,  she  dispelled  their  ter- 
rors and  weariness ;  then  she  assisted  Bertalda 
to  mount  the  white  palfrey,  on  which  she  had 
herself  ridden  here,  and  thus  all  three  returned 
back  to  castle  Ringstetten. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  VIENNA,  141 


CHAPTER  XV. 

THE  JOURNEY  TO  VIENNA. 

After  this  last  adventure,  they  lived  quietly 
and  happily  at  the  castle.  The  knight  more  and 
more  perceived  the  heavenly  goodness  of  his 
wife,  which  had  been  so  nobly  exhibited  by  her 
pursuit,  and  by  her  rescue  of  them  in  the  Black 
Valley,  where  Kuhleborn's  power  again  com- 
menced; Undine  herself  felt  that  peace  and 
security,  which  is  never  lacking  to  a  mind  so 
long  as  it  is  distinctly  conscious  of  being  on  the 
right  path,  and  besides,  in  the  newly-awakened 
love  and  esteem  of  her  husband,  many  a  gleam 
of  hope  and  joy  shone  upon  her.  Bertalda,  on 
the  other  hand,  showed  herself  grateful,  humble 
and  timid,  without  regarding  her  conduct  as 
anything  meritorious.  Whenever  Huldbrand  or 
Undine  were  about  to  give  her  any  explanation 
regarding  the  covering  of  the  fountain  or  the 
adventure  in  the  Black  Valley,  she  would  ear- 


J  42 


UNDINE, 


nestly  entreat  them  to  spar^  her  the  recital,  as  she 
felt  too  much  shame  at  the  recollection  of  the 
fountain,  and  too  much  fear  at  the  remem- 
brance of  the  Black  Valley.  She  learned 
therefore  nothing  further  of  either;  and  foi 
v/hat  end  was  such  knowledge  necessary? 
Peace  and  joy  had  visibly  taken  up  their  abode 
at  castle  Ringstetten.  They  felt  secure  on  this 
point,  and  imagined  that  life  could  now  produce 
nothing  but  pleasant  flowers  and  fruits. 

In  this  happy  condition  of  things,  winter  had 
come  and  passed  away,  and  spring,  with  its  fresh 
green  shoots  and  its  blue  sky,  was  gladdening 
the  joyous  inmates  of  the  castle.  Spring  wa& 
in_  harmony  with  them,  and  they  with  spring. 
What  wonder  then,  that  its  storks  and  swallows 
inspired  them  also  with  a  desire  to  travel  ?  One 
day  when  they  were  taking  a  pleasant  walk  to 
one  of  the  sources  of  the  Danube,  Huldbrand 
spoke  of  the  magnificence  of  the  noble  river, 
and  how  it  widened  as  it  flowed  through  coun- 
tries fertilized  by  its  waters,  how  the  charming 
city  of  Vienna  shone  forth  on  its  banks,  and 
how  with  every  step  of  its  course  it  increased  in 
power  and  loveliness. 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  VIENNA,    1 43 


**  It  must  be  glorious  to  go  down  the  river  as 
far  as  Vienna ! "  exclaimed  Bertalda,  but  imme- 
diately relapsing  into  her  present  modesty  and 
humility,  she  paused  and  blushed  deeply. 

This  touched  Undine  deeply,  and  with  the 
liveliest  desire  to  give  pleasure  to  her  friend,  she 
said:  **What  hinders  us  from  starting  on  the 
little  voyage  ?  " 

Bertalda  exhibited  the  greatest  delight,  and 
both  she  and  Undine  began  at  once  to  picture 
the  tour  of  the  Danube  in  the  brightest  colors. 
Huldbrand  also  gladly  agreed  to  the  prospect ; 
only  he  once  whispered  anxiously  in  Undine's 
ear, — 

**  But  Kuhleborn  becomes  .possessed  of  his 
power  again  out  there  ! " 

**Let  him  come,"  she  replied  with  a  smile; 

I  shall  be  there,  and  he  ventures  upon  none  of 
his  mischief  befoie  me."  The  last  impediment 
was  thus  removed ;  they  prepared  for  the  jour- 
ney, and  soon  after  set  out  upon  it  with  fresh 
spirits  and  the  brightest  hopes. 

But  wonder  not,  oh  man,  if  events  always  turn 
out  different  to  what  we  have  intended.  That 


144 


UNDINE. 


malicious  power,  lurking  for  our  destruction, 
gladly  lulls  its  chosen  victim  to  sleep  with 
sweet  songs  and  golden  delusions ;  while  on 
the  other  hand  the  rescuing  messenger  from 
Heaven  often  knocks  sharply  and  alarmingly  at 
our  door. 

During  the  first  few  days  of  their  voyage  down 
the  Danube  they  were  extremely  happy.  Every- 
thing grew  more  and  more  beautiful  as  they 
sailed  further  and  further  down  the  proudly 
flowing  stream.  But  in  a  region  otherwise  so 
pleasant,  and  in  the  enjoyment  of  which  they 
had  promised  themselves  the  purest  delight,  the 
ungovernable  Klihleborn  began,  undisguisedly, 
to  exhibit  his  power  of  interference.  This  was 
indeed  manifested  in  mere  teasing  tricks,  for 
Undine  often  rebuked  the  agitated  waves,  or 
the  contrary  winds,  and  then  the  violence  of 
the  enemy  would  be  immediately  humbled  ;  but 
again  the  attacks  would  be  renewed,  and  again 
Undine's  reproofs  would  become  necessary,  so 
that  the  pleasure  of  the  little  party  was  completely 
destroyed.  The  boatmen  too  were  continually 
whispering  to  each  other  in  dismay,  and  looking 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  VIENNA,  I45 


with  distrust  at  the  three  strangers,  whose  ser- 
vants even  began  more  and  more  to  forebode 
something  uncomfortable,  and  to  watch  their 
superiors  with  suspicious  glances.  Huldbrand 
often  said  to  himself:  *'This  comes  from  like 
not  being  linked  with  like,  from  a  man  uniting 
himself  with  a  mermaid  !  "  Excusing  hiriiself  as 
we  all  love  to  do,  he  would  often  think  indeed 
as  he  said  this  :  I  did  not  really  know  that  she 
was  a  sea-maiden,  mine  is  the  misfortune,  that 
every  step  I  take  is  disturbed  and  haunted  by 
the  wild  caprices  of  her  raqe,  but  mine  is  not 
the  fault."  By  thoughts  such  as  these,  he  felt 
himself  in  some  measure  strengthened,  but  on 
the  other  hand,  he  felt  increasing  ill-humor,  and 
almost  animosity  toward  Undine.  He  would 
look  at  her  with  an  expression  of  anger,  the 
meaning  of  which  the  poor  wife  understood 
well.  Wearied  with  this  exhibition  of  dis- 
pleasure, and  exhausted  by  the  constant  effort 
to  frustrate  Kuhleborn's  artifices,  she  sank  one 
evening  into  a  deep  slumber,  rocked  soothingly 
by  the  softly  gliding  bark. 

Scarcely,  however,  had  she  closed  her  eyes, 


146 


UNDINE. 


than  every  one  in  the  vessel  imagined  he  saw, 
in  whatever  direction  he  turned,  a  most  horrible 
human  head ;  it  rose  out  of  the  waves,  not  like 
that  of  a  person  swimming,  but  perfectly  per- 
pendicular as  if  invisibly  supported  upright  on 
the  watery  surface,  and  floating  along  in  the 
same  course  with  the  bark.  Each  wanted  to 
point  out  to  the  other  the  cause  of  his  alarm, 
but  each  found  the  same  expression  of  horror 
depicted  on  the  face  of  his  neighbor,  only  that 
his  hands  and  eyes  were  directed  to  a  different 
point  where  the  monster,  half-laughing  and  half- 
threatening,  rose  before  him.  When,  however, 
they  all  wished  to  make  each  other  understand 
what  each  saw,  and  all  were  crying  out :  Look 
there!  No,  there!"  the  horrible  heads  all  at 
one  and  the  same  time  appeared  to  their  view, 
and  the  whole  river  around  the  vessel  swarmed 
with  the  most  hideous  apparitions.  The  uni- 
versal cry  raised  at  the  sight  awoke  Undine. 
As  she  opened  her  eyes,  the  wild  crowd  of  dis- 
torted visages  disappeared.  But  Huldbrand  was 
indignant  at  such  unsightly  jugglery.  He  would 
have  burst  forth  in  uncontrolled  imprecations 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  VIENNA,     1 4/ 


had  not  Undine  said  to  him  with  a  humble  man- 
ner and  a  softly  imploring  tone :  For  God's 
sake,  my  husband,  we  are  on  the  water,  do  not 
be  angry  with  me  now." 

The  knight  was  silent,  and  sat  down  ab- 
sorbed in  revery.  Undine  whispered  in  his 
ear :  Would  it  not  be  better,  my  love,  if  we 
gave  up  this  foolish  journey,  and  returned  to 
castle  Ringstetten  in  peace?  " 

But  Huldbrand  murmured  moodily:  So  1 
must  be  a  prisoner  in  my  own  castle,  and  only 
be  able  to  breathe  so  long  as  the  fountain  is 
closed !  I  would  your  mad  kindred  "  —  Undine 
lovingly  pressed  her  fair  hand  upon  his  lips. 
He  paused,  pondermg  in  silence  over  much  that 
Undine  had  before  said  to  him. 

Bertalda  had  meanwhile  given  herself  up  to  a 
variety  of  strange  thoughts.  She  knew  a  good 
deal  of  Undine's  origin,  and  yet  not  the  whole^ 
and  the  fearful  Kuhleborn  especially  had  re- 
mained to  her  a  terrible  but  wiiolly  unrev^ealed 
mystery.  She  had  indeed  never  even  heard  his 
name.  Musing  on  these  strange  things,  she 
unclasped,  scarcely  conscious  cf  the  act.  a  gold 


148 


UNDINE. 


necklace,  which  Huldbrin'd  had  lately  purchased 
for  her  of  a  travelling  trader ;  half  dreamingly 
she  drew  it  along  the  surface  of  the  water,  enjoy- 
ing the  light  glimmer  it  cast  upon  the  evening-  • 
tinted  stream.  Suddenly  a  huge  hand  was 
stretched  out  of  the  Danube,  it  seized  the  neck- 
lace and  vanished  with  it  beneath  the  waters. 
Bertalda  screamed  aloud,  and  a  scornful  laugh 
resounded  from  the  depths  of  the  stream.  The 
knight  could  now  restrain  his  anger  no  longer. 
Starting  up,  he  inveighed  against  the  river ;  he 
cursed  all  who  ventured  to  interfere  with  his 
family  and  his  life,  and  challenged  them,  be  they 
spirits  or  sirens,  to  show  themselves  before  his 
avenging  sword. 

Bertalda  wept  meanwhile  for  her  lost  orna- 
ment,  which  was  so  precious  to  her,  and  her 
tears  added  fuel  to  the  flame  of  the  knight's 
anger,  while  Undine  held  her  hand  over  the  side 
of  the  vessel,  dipping  it  into  the  water,  softly 
murmuring  to  herself,  and  only  now  and  then 
interrupting  her  strange  mysterious  whisper,  as 
she  entreated  her  husband  :  **  My  dearly  loved 
one,''  do'  not  scold  me  here ;  reprove  others  if 


THE  JOURNEY  TO  VIENNA.     1 49 


you  will,  but  not  me  here.  You  know  why!" 
And  indeed,  he  restrained  the  words  of  anger 
that  were  trembling  on  his  tongue.  Presently 
in  her  wet  hand  which  she  had  been  holding 
under  the  waves,  she  brought  up  a  beautiful 
coral  necklace  of  so  much  brilliancy  that  the 

-eyes  of  all  were  dazzled  by  it. 

*'Take  this,"  said  she,  holding  it  out  kindly 
to  Bertalda ;  *'  I  have  ordered  this  to  be  brought 
for  you  as  a  compensation,  and  don't  be  grieved 
any  more,  my  poor  child.'' 

But  the  knight  sprang  between  them.  He 
tore  the  beautiful  ornament  from  Undine's  hand, 

'  hurled  it  again  into  the  river,  exclaiming  in  pas- 
sionate rage  :  **  Have  you  then  still  a  connection 

-with  them?  In  the  name  of  all  the  witches, 
remain  among  them  with  your  presents,  and 
leave  us  mortals  in  peace,  you  sorceress  !  " 

Poor  Undine  gazed  at  him  with  fixed  but  tear- 
ful eyes,  her  hand  still  stretched  out,  as  when 
she  had  offered  her  beautiful  present  so  lovingly 
to  Bertalda.  She  then  began  to  weep  more 
and  more  violently,  like  a  dear  innocent  child 
bitterly  afflictedo    At  last,  wearied  out  she  said : 


UNDINE. 


**Alas,  sweet  friend,  alas!  farewell!  They 
shall  do  you  no  harm ;  only  remain  true,  so 
that  I  may  be  able  to  keep  them  from  you.  I 
must,  alas !  go  away ;  I  must  go  hence  at  this 
early  stage  of  life.  Oh  woe,  woe!  what  have 
you  done !    Oh  woe,  woe  ! " 

She  vanished  over  the  side  of  the  vessel. 
Whether  she  plunged  into  the  stream,  or  flowed 
away  with  it,  they  knew  not ;  her  disappearance 
was  like  both  and  neither.  Soon,  however,  she 
was  completely  lost  sight  of  in  the  Danube; 
only  a  few  little  waves  kept  whispering,  as  if 
sobbing,  round  the  boat,  and  they  almost 
seemed  to  be  saying:  **  Oh  woe,  woe!  oh  re- 
main true  !  oh  woe  ! " 

Huldbrand  lay  on  the  deck  of  the  vessel, 
bathed  in  hot  tears,  and  a  deep  swoon  soon  cast 
its  veil  of  forgetfulness  over  the  unhappy  man. 


MORE  ABOUT  HULDBRAND.  15I 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

HOW  IT  FARED  FURTHER  WITH  HULDBRAND. 

Shall  we  say  it  is  well  or  ill,  that  our  sorrow 
is  of  such  short  duration?  I  mean  that  deep 
sorrow  which  affects  the  very  well-spring  of  our 
life,  which  becomes  so  one  with  the  lost  objects 
of  our  love  that  they  are  no  longer  lost,  and 
which  enshrines  their  image  as  a  sacred  treasure, 
until  that  final  goal  is  reached  which  they  have 
reached  before  us !  It  is  true  that  many  men 
really  maintain  these  sacred  memories,  but  their 
feeling  is  no  longer  that  of  the  first  deep  grief. 
Other  and  new  images  have  thronged  between ; 
we  learn  at  length  the  transitoriness  of  all  earthly 
things,  even  to  our  grief,  and,  therefore,  I  must 
say  **  Alas,  that  our  sorrow  should  be  of  such 
short  duration ! " 

The  lord  of  Ringstetten  experienced  this : 
whether  for  his  good,  we  shall  hear  in  the  sequel 
to  this  history.    At  first  he  could  do  nothing 


152 


UNDINE, 


but  weep,  and  that  as  bitterly  as  the  poor  gentle 
Undine  had  wept  when  he  had  torn  from  her 
hand  that  brilliant  ornament  with  which  she  had 
wished  to  set  everything  to  rights.  And  then 
he  would  stretch  out  his  hand,  as  she  had  done, 
and  would  weep  again,  like  her.  He  cherished 
the  secret  hope  that  he  might  at  length  dissolve 
in  tears ;  and  has  not  a  similar  hope  passed 
before  the  mind  of  many  a  one  of  us,  with  pain- 
ful pleasure,  in  moments  of  great  affliction? 
Bertalda  wept  also,  and  they  lived  a  long  while 
quietly  together  at  Castle  Ringstetten,  cherish- 
ing Undine's  memory,  and  almost  wholly  forget- 
ful of  their  former  attachment  to  each  other. 
And,  therefore,  the  good  Undine  often  visited 
Huldbrand  in  his  dreams ;  caressing  him  ten- 
derly and  kindly,  and  then  going  away,  weeping 
silently,  so  that  when  he  awoke  he  often  scarcely 
knew  why  his  cheeks  were  so  wet :  whether  they 
had  been  bathed  with  her  tears,  or  merely  with 
his  own? 

These  dream-visions  became,  however,  less 
frequent  as  time  passed  on,  and  the  grief  of 
the  knight  was  less  acute ;  still  he  would  prob- 


MORE  ABOUT  HULDBRAND.     I  53 


ably  have  cherished  no  other  wish  than  thus  to 
think  cahnly  of  Undine  and  to  talk  cf  her,  had 
not  the  old  fisherman  appeared  one  day  unex- 
pectedly at  the  castle,  and  sternly  insisted  on 
Bertalda's  returning  with  him  as  his  child.  The 
news  of  Undine's  disappearance  had  reached 
him,  and  he  had  determined  on  no  longer  allow- 
ing Bertalda  to  reside  at  the  castle  with  the 
widowed  knight. 

For,"  said  he,  *' whether  my  daughter  love 
me  or  no,  I  do  not  care  to  know,  but  her  honor 
is  at  stake,  and  where  that  is  concerned,  nothing 
else  is  to  be  thought  of." 

This  idea  of  the  old  fisherman^s,  and  the  soli- 
tude which  threatened  to  overwhelm  the  knight 
in  all  the  halls  and  galleries  of  the  desolate 
castle,  after  Bertalda's  departure,  brought  out 
the  feelings  that  had  slumbered  till  now  and 
which  had  been  wholly  forgotten  in  his  sorrow 
for  Undine ;  namely,  Huldbrand's  affection  for 
the  beautiful  Bertalda.  The  fisherman  had 
many  objections  to  raise  against  the  proposed 
marriage.  Undine  had  been  very  dear  to  the 
old  fisherman,  and  he  felt  that  no  one  really 


154 


UNDINE, 


knew  for  certain  whether  the  dear  lost  one  were 
actually  dead.  And  if  her  body  were  truly  lying 
cold  and  stiff  at  the  bottom  of  the  Danube,  or 
had  floated  away  wdth  the  current  into  the  ocean, 
even  then  Bertalda  was  in  some  measure  to 
blame  for  her  death,  and  it  was  unfitting  for  her 
to  step  into  the  place  of  the  poor  supplanted 
one.  Yet  the  fisherman  had  a  strong  regard  for 
the  knight  also ;  and  the  entreaties  of  his 
daughter,  who  had  become  much  more  gentle 
and  submissive,  and  her  tears  for  Undine, 
turned  the  scale,  and  he  must  at  length  have 
given  his  consent,  for  he  remained  at  the  castle 
without  objection,  and  a  messenger  was  de- 
spatched to  Father  Heilmann,  who  had  united 
Undine  and  Huldbrand  in  happy  days  gone  by, 
to  bring  him  to  the  castle  for  the  second  nuptials 
of  the  knight. 

The  holy  man,  however,  had  scarcely  read 
the  letter  from  the  knight  of  Ringstetten,  than 
he  set  out  on  his  journey  to  the  castle,  with  far 
greater  expedition  than  even  the  messenger  had 
used  in  going  to  him.  Whenever  his  breath 
failed  in  his  rapid  progress,  or  his  aged  limbs 


MORE  ABOUT  HULDBRAND.     1 55 


ached  with  weariness,  he  would  say  to  himself : 
**  Perhaps  the  evil  may  yet  be  prevented;  fail 
not,  my  tottering  frame,  till  you  have  reached 
the  goal ! "  And  with  renewed  power  he  would 
then  press  forward,  and  go  on  and  on  without 
rest  or  repose,  until  late  one  evening  he  entered 
the  shady  court -yard  of  castle  Ringstetten. 

The  betrothed  pair  were  sitting  side  by  side 
under  the  trees,  and  the  old  fisherman  was  near 
them,  absorbed  in  thought.  The  moment  they 
recognized  Father  Heilmann,  they  sprang  up, 
and  pressed  round  him  with  warm  welcome. 
But  he,  without  making  much  reply,  begged 
Huldbrand  to  go  with  him  into  the  castle ;  and 
when  the  latter  looked  astonished,  and  hesitated 
to  obey  the  grave  summons,  the  reverend  father 
said  to  him  :  — 

**  Why  should  I  make  any  delay  in  wishing  to 
speak  to  you  in  private,  Herr  von  Ringstetten? 
What  I  have  to  say  concerns  Bertalda  and  the 
fisherman  as  much  as  yourself,  and  what  a  man 
has  to  hear,  he  may  prefer  to  hear  as  soon  aj 
possible.  Are  you  then  so  perfectly  certain, 
Knight  Huldbrand,  that  your  first  wife  is  realljf 


156 


UNDINE, 


dead  ?  It  scarcely  seems  so  to  me.  I  will  not 
indeed  say  anything  of  the  mysterious  condi- 
tion in  which  she  may  be  existing,  and  I  know, 
too,  nothing  of  it  with  certainty.  But  she  was  a 
pious  and  faithful  wife,  that  is  beyond  all  doubt ; 
and  for  a  fortnight  past  she  has  stood  at  my  bed- 
side at  night  in  my  dreams,  wringing  her  tender 
hands  in  anguish  and  sighing  out :  '  Oh,  prevent 
him,  good  father!  I  am  still  living!  oh,  save  his 
life  !  save  his  soul ! '  I  did  not  understand  what 
this  nightly  vision  signified ;  when  presently 
your  messenger  came,  and  I  hurried  thither,  not 
to  unite,  but  to  separate,  what  ought  not  to  be 
joined  together.  Leave  her,  Huldbrand !  Leave 
him,  Bertalda  !  He  yet  belongs  to  another  ;  and 
do  you  not  see  grief  for  his  lost  wife  still  written 
on  his  pale  cheek?  No  bridegroom  looks  thus, 
and  a  voice  tells  me  that  if  you  do  not  leave  him, 
you  will  never  be  happy." 

The  three  listeners  felt  in  their  innermost 
heart  that  Father  Heilmann  spoke  the  truth,  but 
they  would  not  believe  it.  Even  the  old  fish- 
erman was  now  so  infatuated  that  he  thought 
it  could  not  be  otherwise  than  they  had  settled  it 


MORE  ABOUT  HULDBRAND,     I  57 


In  their  discussions  during  the  last  few  days. 
They  therefore  all  opposed  the  warnings  of  the 
priest  with  a  wild  and  gloomy  rashness,  until  at 
length  the  holy  father  quitted  the  castle  with  a 
sad  heart,  refusing  to  accept  even  for  a  single 
night  the  shelter  offered,  or  to  enjoy  the  refresh- 
ments brought  him.  Huldbrand,  however,  per- 
suaded himself  that  the  priest  was  full  of  whims 
and  fancies,  and  with  dawn  of  day  he  sent  for  a 
father  from  the  nearest  monastery,  who,  without 
hesitation,  promised  to  perform  the  ceremony  in 
a  few  days. 


158 


UNDINE, 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

THE  knight's  dream. 

It  was  between  night  and  dawn  of  day  that 
the  knight  was  lying  on  his  couch,  half-waking, 
half-sleeping.  Whenever  he  was  on  the  point 
of  falling  asleep  a  terror  seemed  to  come  upon 
him  and  scare  his  rest  away,  for  his  slumbers 
were  haunted  with  spectres.  If  he  tried,  how- 
ever, to  rouse  himself  in  good  earnest  he  felt 
fanned  as  by  the  wings  of  a  swan,  and  he  heard 
the  soft  murmuring  of  waters,  until  soothed  by 
the  agreeable  delusion,  he  sunk  back  again  into 
a  half-conscious  state.  At  length  he  must  have 
fallen  sound  asleep,  for  it  seemed  to  him  as  if  he 
were  lifted  up  upon  the  fluttering  wings  of  the 
swans  and  borne  by  them  far  over  land  and  sea, 
while  they  sang  to  him  their  sweetest  music. 
**  The  music  of  the  swan!  the  music  of  the 
swan!"  he  kept  saying  to  himself;  *'does  it 
not  always  portend  death  ? "    But  it  had  yet 


THE  KNIGHT'S  DREAM.         I  59 

another  meaning.  All  at  once  he  felt  as  if  he 
were  hovering  over  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  A 
swan  was  singing  musically  in  his  ear  that  this 
was  the  Mediterranean  Sea.  And  while  he  was 
looking  down  upon  the  waters  below  they  became 
clear  as  crystal,  so  that  he  could  see  through  them 
to  the  bottom.  He  was  delighted  at  this,  for  he 
could  see  Undine  sitting  beneath  the  crystal  arch. 
It  is  true  she  was  weeping  bitterly,  and  looking 
much  sadder  than  in  the  happy  days  when  they 
had  Hved  together  at  the  castle  of  Ringstetten, 
especially  at  their  commencement,  and  after- 
ward also,  shortly  before  they  had  begun  their 
unhappy  Danube  excursion.  The  knight  could 
not  help  thinking  upon  all  this  very  fully  and 
deeply,  but  it  did  not  seem  as  if  Undine  per- 
ceived him. 

Meanwhile  KUhleborn  had  approached  her, 
and  was  on  the  point  of  reproving  her  for  her 
weeping.  But  she  drew  herself  up,  and  looked 
at  him  with  such  a  noble  and  commanding  air 
that  he  almost  shrunk  back  with  fear.  '*  Al- 
though I  live  here  beneath  the  waters,"  said  she, 
**I  have  yet  brought  down  my  soul  with  me; 


i6o 


UNDINE. 


and  therefore  I  may  well  weep,  although  you  can> 
not  divine  what  such  tears  are.  They  too  are 
blessed,  for  everything  is  blessed  to  him  in 
whom  a  true  soul  dwells." 

He  shook  his  head  incredulously,  and  said, 
after  some  reflection :  *'  And  yet,  niece,  you  are 
subject  to  the  laws  of  our  element,  and  if  he 
marries  again  and  is  unfaithful  to  you,  you  are 
in  duty  bound  to  take  away  his  life." 

**  He  is  a  widower  to  this  very  hour,"  replied 
Undine,    and  his  sad  heart  still  holds  me  dear." 

He  is,  however,  at  the  same  time  betrothed," 
laughed  Kiihleborn,  with  scorn;  *'and  let  only 
a  few  days  pass,  and  the  priest  will  have  given 
the  nuptial  blessing,  and  then  you  will  have 
to  go  upon  earth  to  accomplish  the  death  of 
him  who  has  taken  another  to  wife." 

**  That  I  cannot  do,"  laughed  Undine  in 
return  ;  I  have  sealed  up  the  fountain  securely 
against  myself  and  my  race." 

But  suppose  he  should  leave  his  castle," 
said  Kiihleborn,  *' or  should  have  the  fountain 
opened  again  !  for  he  thinks  little  enough  of 
these  things." 


THE  KNIGHT  S  DREAM.  l6l 


■  It  is  just  for  that  reason,"  said  Undine,  still 
smiling  amid  her  tears,  *'it  is  just  for  that  rea- 
son,  that  he  is  now  hovering  in  spirit  over  the 
Mediterranean  Sea,  and  is  dreaming  of  tliis  con- 
versation of  ours  as  a  warning.  I  have  inten- 
tionally arranged  it  so." 

Kuhleborn,  furious  with  rage,  looked  up  at 
the  knight,  threatened,  stamped  with  his  feet, 
and  then  swift  as  an  arrow  shot  under  the 
waves.  It  seemed  as  if  he  were  swelling  in  his 
fury  to  the  size  of  a  whale.  Again  the  swans 
began  to  sing,  to  flap  their  wings,  and  to  fly. 
It  seemed  to  the  knight  as  if  he  were  soaring 
away  over  mountains  and  streams,  and  that  he 
at  length  reached  the  castle  Ringstetten,  and 
awoke  on  his  couch. 

He  did,  in  reality,  awake  upon  his  couch,  and 
his  squire  coming  in  at  that  moment  informed 
him  that  Father  Heilmann  was  still  lingering  in 
the  neighborhood ;  that  he  had  met  him  the 
night  before  in  the  forest,  in  a  hut  which  he 
had  formed  for  himself  of  the  branches  of  trees, 
and  covered  with  moss  and  brushwood.  To 
the  question  what  he  was  doing  here,  since  h^ 


1 62 


UNDINE. 


would  not  give  the  nuptial  blessing,  he  had 
answered  :  There  are  other  blessings  besides 
those  at  the  nuptial  altar,  and  though  I  have  not 
gone  to  the  wedding,  it  may  be  that  I  shall  be 
at  another  solemn  ceremony.  We  must  be 
ready  for  all  things.  Besides,  marrying  and 
mourning  are  not  so  unlike,  and  every  one  not 
wilfully  blinded  must  see  that  well." 

Th  knight  placed  various  strange  construc- 
tions upon  these  words,  and  upon  his  dream, 
but  it  is  very  difficult  to  break  off  a  thing  which 
a  man  has  once  regarded  as  certain,  and  so 
everything  remained  as  it  had  been  arranged. 


KNIGHT  HULDBRAND  MARRIED,     1 63 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

HOW  THE  KNIGHT  HULDBRAND  IS  MARRIED. 

If  I  were  to  tell  you  how  the  marriage-feast 
passed  at  castle  Ringstetten,  it  would  seem  to 
you  as  if  you  saw  a  heap  of  bright  and  pleasant 
things,  but  a  gloomy  veil  of  mourning  spread 
over  them  all,  the  dark  hue  of  which  would  make 
the  splendor  of  the  whole  look  less  like  happi- 
ness than  a  mockery  of  the  emptiness  of  all 
earthly  joys.  It  was  not  that  any  spectral  appa- 
ritions disturbed  the  festive  company,  for  we 
know  that  the  castle  had  been  secured  from 
the  mischief  of  the  threatening  water-spirits. 
But  the  knight  and  the  fisherman  and  all  the 
guests  felt  as  if  the  chief  personage  were  still 
lacking  at  the  feast,  and  that  this  chief  person- 
age could  be  none  other  than  the  loved  and 
gentle  Undine.  Whenever  a  door  opened,  the 
eyes  of  all  were  involuntarily  turned  in  that 


UNDINE, 


direction,  and  if  it  was  nothing  but  the  butler 
with  new  dishes,  or  the  cup-bearer  with  a  flask 
of  still  richer  wine,  they  would  look  down  again 
sadly,  and  the  flashes  of  wit  and  merriment 
which  had  passed  to  and  fro,  would  be  extin- 
guished by  sad  remembrances.  The  bride  was 
the  most  thoughtless  of  all,  and  therefore  the 
most  happy ;  but  even  to  her  it  sometimes 
seemed  strange  that  she  should  be  sitting  at  the 
head  of  the  table,  wearing  a  green  wreath  and 
gold-embroidered  attire,  while  Undine  was  lying 
at  the  bottom  of  the  Danube,  a  cold  and  stiff 
corpse,  or  floating  away  with  the  current  into 
the  mighty  ocean.  For,  ever  since  her  father 
had  spoken  of  something  of  the  sort,  his  words 
were  ever  ringing  in  her  ear,  and  this  day  espe- 
cially they  were  not  inclined  to  give  place  to 
other  thoughts. 

The  company  dispersed  early  in  the  evening, 
not  broken  up  by  the  bridegroom  himself,  but 
sadly  and  gloomily  by  the  joyless  mood  of  the 
guests  and  their  forebodings  of  evil.  Bertalda 
retired  with  her  maidens,  and  the  knight  with 
his  attendants;  but  at  this  mournful  festival 


KNIGHT  HULDBRAND  MARRIED.      1 65 


there  was  no  gay,  laughing  train  of  bridesmaids 
and  bridesmen. 

Bertalda  wished  to  arouse  more  cheerful 
thoughts ;  she  ordered  a  splendid  ornament  of 
jewels  which  Huldbrand  had  given  her,  together 
with  rich  apparel  and  veils,  to  be  spread  out 
before  her,  in  order  that  from  these  latter  she 
might  select  the  brightest  and  most  beautiful 
for  her  morning  attire.  Her  attendants  were 
delighted  at  the  opportunity  of  expressing  their 
good  wishes  to  their  young  mistress,  not  fail- 
ing at  the  same  time  to  extol  the  beauty  of 
the  bride  in  the  most  lively  terms.  They  were 
more  and  more  absorbed  in  these  considera- 
tions, till  Bertalda  at  length,  looking  in  a  mir- 
ror, said  with  a  sigh:  Ah,  but  don't  you  see 
plainly  how  freckled  I  am  growing  here  at  the 
side  of  my  neck  ? " 

They  looked  at  her  throat,  and  found  the 
freckles  as  their  fair  mistress  had  said,  but  they 
called  them  beauty-spots,  and  mere  tiny  blem- 
ishes only,  tending  to  enhance  the  whiteness  of 
her  delicate  skin.  Bertalda  shook  her  head  and 
asserted  that  a  spot  was  always  a  defect. 


UNDINE. 


**And  I  could  remove  them,"  she  sighed  at 
last,  only  the  fountain  is  closed  from  which  I 
used  to  have  that  precious  and  purifying  water. 
Oh  !  if  I  had  but  a  flask  of  it  to-day !  " 

**  Is  that  all?"  said  an  alert  waiting-maid, 
laughing,  as  she  slipped  from  the  apartment. 

She  will  not  be  mad,"  exclaimed  Bertalda, 
in  a  pleased  and  surprised  tone,  **  she  will  not 
be  so  mad  as  to  have  the  stone  removed  from 
the  fountain  this  very  evening ! "  At  the  same 
moment  they  heard  the  men  crossing  the  court- 
yard, and  could  see  from  the  window  how 
the  officious  waiting-woman  was  leading  them 
straight  up  to  the  fountain,  and  that  they  were 
carrying  levers  and  other  instruments  on  their 
shoulders.  It  is  certainly  my  will,"  said  Ber- 
talda, smiling,  **  if  only  it  does  not  take  too 
long."  And,  happy  in  the  sense  that:  a  look 
from  her  now  was  able  to  effect  what  had  for- 
merly been  so  painfully  refused  her,  she  watched 
the  progress  of  the  work  in  the  moonlit  castle- 
court. 

The  men  raised  the  enormous  stone  with  an 
effort ;  now  and  then  indeed  one  of  their  num- 


KNIGHT  HULDBRAND  MARRIED,     1 6/ 


ber  would  sigh,  as  he  remembered  that  they 
were  destroying  the  work  of  their  former  beloved 
mistress.  But  the  labor  was  far  lighter  than 
they  had  imagined.  It  seemed  as  if  a  power 
within  the  spring  itself  were  aiding  them  in 
raising  the  stone. 

**  It  is  just,"  said  the  workmen  to  each  other 
in  astonishment,  **as  if  the  water  within  had 
become  a  springing  fountain."  And  the  stone 
rose  higher  and  higher,  and  almost  without  the 
assistance  of  the  workmen,  it  rolled  slowly  down 
upon  the  pavement  with  a  hollow  sound.  But 
from  the  opening  of  the  fountain  there  rose 
solemnly  a  white  column  of  water ;  at  first  they 
imagined  it  had  really  become  a  springing  foun- 
tain, till  they  perceived  that  the  rising  form  was 
a  pale  female  figure  veiled  in  white.  She  was 
weeping  bitterly,  raising  her  hands  wailingly 
above  her  head  and  wringing  them,  as  she 
walked  with  a  slow  and  serious  step  to  the  castle- 
building.  The  servants  fled  from  the  spring; 
the  bride,  pale  and  stiff  with  horror,  stood  at 
&he  window  with  her  attendants.  When  the 
figure  had  now  come  close  beneath  her  room. 


i68 


UNDINE. 


it  looked  moaningly  up  to  her,  and  Bertalda 
thought  she  could  recognize  beneath  the  veil 
the  pale  features  of  Undine.  But  the  sorrowing 
form  passed  on,  sad,  reluctant,  and  faltering,  as 
if  passing  to  execution. 

Bertalda  screamed  out  that  the  knight  was  to 
be  called,  but  none  of  her  maids  ventured  from 
the  spot ;  and  even  the  bride  herself  became 
mute,  as  if  trembling  at  her  own  voice. 

While  they  were  still  standing  fearfully  at  the 
window,  motionless  as  statues,  the  strange  wan^ 
derer  had  reached  the  castle,  had  passed  up  the 
well-known  stairs,  and  through  the  well-known 
halls,  ever  in  silent  tears.  Alas  !  how  differentl}! 
had  she  once  wandered  through  them  ! 

The  knight,  partly  undressed,  had  already 
dismissed  his  attendants,  and  in  a  mood  of  deep 
dejection  he  was  standing  before  a  large  mirror  ; 
a  taper  was  burning  dimly  beside  him.  There 
was  a  gentle  tap  at  his  door.  Undine  used  to 
tap  thus  when  she  wanted  playfully  to  tease  him. 
**It  is  all  fancy,"  said  he  to  himself;  **  I  must 
seek  my  nuptial  bed." 

**  So  you  must,  but  it  must  be  a  cold  one!'' 


KNIGHT  HULDBRAND  MARRIED,     1 69 

he  heard  a  tearful  voice  say  from  without,  and 
then  he  saw  in  the  mirror  his  door  opening 
slowly  —  slowly  —  and  the  white  figure  entered, 
carefully  closing  it  behind  her.  **They  have 
opened  the  spring,"  said  she  softly,  *'  and  now 
I  am  here,  and  you  must  die." 

He  felt  in  his  paralyzed  heart  that  it  could  not 
be  otherwise,  but  covering  his  eyes  with  his 
hands  he  said:  Do  not  make  me  mad  with 
terror  in  my  hour  of  death.  If  you  wear  a  hid- 
eous face  behind  that  veil,  do  not  raise  it,  but 
take  my  life,  and  let  me  see  you  not." 

**Alas!"  replied  the  figure,  **will  you  then 
not  look  upon  me  once  more  ?  I  am  as  fair  as 
when  you  wooed  me  on  the  promontory." 

**  Oh,  if  it  were  so  !  "  sighed  Huldbrand,  and 
if  I  might  die  in  your  fond  embrace ! " 

Most  gladly,  my  loved  one,"  said  she;  and 
throwing  her  veil  back,  her  lovely  face  smiled 
forth  divinely  beautiful.  Trembling  with  love 
and  with  the  approach  of  death,  she  kissed  him 
with  a  holy  kiss  ;  but  not  relaxing  her  hold  she 
pressed  him  fervently  to  her,  and  as  if  she  would 
weep  away  her  soul.    Tears  rushed  into  the 


UNDINE. 


knight's  eyes,  and  seemed  to  surge  through  his 
heaving  breast,  till  at  length  his  breathing 
ceased,  and  he  fell  softly  back  from  the  beauti- 
ful arms  of  Undine,  upon  the  pillows  of  his 
couch  —  a  corpse. 

**  I  have  wept  him  to  death,"  said  she  to  some 
servants  who  met  her  in  the  ante-chamber; 
and,  passing  through  the  affrighted  group,  she 
went  slowly  out  toward  the  fountain. 


KNIGHT  HULDBRAND  BURIED,  I/I 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

HOW  THE  KNIGHT  HULDBRAND  WAS  BURIED. 

Father  Heilmann  had  returned  to  the 
castle  as  soon  as  the  death  of  the  lord  of  Ring- 
stetten  had  been  made  known  in  the  neighbor- 
hood, and  he  appeared  at  the  very  same  moment 
that  the  monk  who  had  married  the  unfortunate 
couple  was  fleeing  from  the  gates  overwhelmed 
with  fear  and  terror. 

**  It  is  well,"  replied  Heilmann,  when  he  was 
informed  of  this;  **now  my  duties  begin,  and 
I  need  no  associate." 

Upon  this  he  began  to  console  the  bride,  now 
a  widow,  small  result  as  it  produced  upon  her 
worldly  thoughtless  mind.  The  old  fisherman, 
\  on  the  other  hand,  although  heartily  grieved, 
was  far  more  resigned  to  the  fate  which  had 
befallen  his  daughter  and  son-in-law,  and  while 
Bertalda  could  not  refrain  from  abusing  Undine 


172 


UNDINE. 


as  a  murderess  and  sorceress,  the  old  man 
calmly  said:  **It  could  not  be  otherwise  after 
all ;  I  see  nothing  in  it  but  the  judgment  of  God, 
and  no  one^s  heart  has  been  more  deeply  grieved 
by  Huldbrand's  death  than  that  of  her  by  whom 
it  was  inflicted  —  the  poor  forsaken  Undine  !  " 

At,  the  same  time  he  assisted  in  arranging  the 
funeral  solemnities  as  befitted  the  rank  of  the 
deceased. 

The  knight  was  to  be  interred  in  the  village 
churchyard  which  was  filled  with  the  graves  of 
his  ancestors.  And  this  church  had  been  en- 
dowed with  rich  privileges  and  gifts  both  by 
these  ancestors  and  by  himself.  His  shield  and 
helmet  lay  already  on  the  coffin,  to  be  lowered 
with  it  into  the  grave,  for  Sir  Huldbrand,  of 
Ringstetten,  had  died  the  last  of  his  race ;  the 
mourners  began  their  sorrowful  march,  singing 
requiems  under  the  bright,  calm  canopy  of 
heaven ;  Father  Heilmann  walked  in  advance, 
bearing  a  high  crucifix,  and  the  inconsolable 
Bertalda  followed,  supported  by  her  aged  father. 
Suddenly,  in  the  midst^jthe  black-robed  attend- 
ants in  the  widow's  train,  a  snow-white  figure  was 


KNIGHT  HULDBRAND  BURIED,    1 73 

seen,  closely  veiled,  and  wringing  her  hands  with 
fervent  sorrow.  Those  near  whom  she  moved 
felt  a  secret  dread,  and  retreated  either  back- 
ward or  to  the  side,  increasing  by  their  move- 
ments the  alarm  of  the  others  near  to  whom  the 
white  stranger  was  now  advancing,  and  thus  a 
confusion  in  the  funeral-train  was  well-nigh  be- 
ginning. Some  of  the  military  escort  were  so 
daring  as  to  address  the  figure,  and  to  attempt 
to  remove  it  from  the  procession ;  but  she 
seemed  to  vanish  from  under  their  hands,  and 
yet  was  immediately  seen  advancing  again  amid 
the  dismal  cortege  with  slow  and  solemn  step. 
At  length,  in  consequence  of  the  continued 
shrinking  of  the  attendants  to  the  right  and  to 
the  left,  she  came  close  behind  Bertalda.  The 
figure  now  moved  so  slowly  that  the  widow  did 
not  perceive  it,  and  it  walked  meekly  and  humbly 
behind  her  undisturbed. 

This  lasted  till  they  came  to  the  churchyard, 
where  the  procession  formed  a  circle  round  the 
open  grave.  Then  Bertalda  saw  her  unbidden 
companion,  and  starting  up  half  in  anger  and 
half  in  terror,  she  commanded  her  to  leave  the 


174 


UNDINE. 


knight's  last  resting-place.  The  veiled  figure, 
however,  gently  shook  her  head  in  refusal,  and 
raised  her  hands  as  if  in  humble  supplication  to 
Bertalda,  deeply  agitating  her  by  the  action,  and 
recalling  to  her  with  tears  how  Undine  had  so 
kindly  wished  to  give  her  that  coral  necklace  on 
the  Danube.  Father  Heilmann  motioned  with 
his  hand  and  commanded  silence,  as  they  were 
to  pray  in  mute  devotion  over  the  body,  which 
they  were  now  covering  with  the  earth.  Ber- 
talda knelt  silently,  and  all  knelt,  even  the 
grave-diggers  among  the  rest,  when  they  had 
finished  their  task.  But  when  they  rose  again, 
the  white  stranger  had  vanished ;  on  the  spot 
where  she  had  knelt  there  gushed  out  of  the 
turf  a  little  silver  spring,  which  rippled  and  mur- 
mured away  till  it  had  almost  entirely  encircled 
the  knight's  grave ;  then  it  ran  further  and 
emptied  itself  into  a  lake  which  lay  by  the  side 
of  the  burial-place.  Even  to  this  day  the  inhab- 
itants of  the  village  show  the  spring,  and  cherish 
the  belief  that  it  is  the  poor  rejected  Undine, 
who  in  this  manner  still  embraces  her  husband 
in  her  loving  arms. 


I 


i 


■0 


/ 


/ 


